Using Electrical Stitches to Accelerate Wound Healing in Rats
Surgical Stitches That Generate Electricity Enhance Wound Healing in Rats
Recent research from China reveals innovative surgical sutures capable of producing electrical signals, significantly accelerating wound healing in rats. Electricity plays a vital role in bodily processes including heart function, muscle contraction, and neuronal communication. This has prompted scientists to explore electroceuticals to facilitate healing by mirroring the body’s natural electrical signals.
The investigation concentrated on the potential improvements to traditional sutures, which serve to close wounds. According to Zhouquan Sun, a doctoral student at Donghua University in Shanghai, previous advancements in medical devices haven’t significantly enhanced suture efficacy. This observation led researchers to target the integration of advanced therapies into sutures.
Past attempts to modify sutures included embedding drugs or growth factors, but these often yielded little effect or sometimes caused adverse reactions. The research group behind this latest initiative had previously spent nearly a decade developing fibers for electronic applications, marking their first foray into the biomedical realm.
Characteristics of the New Electrical Sutures
The new sutures are approximately 500 microns in width—around five times that of a human hair—and they are biodegradable, which eliminates the need for removal and reduces the risk of further injury.
Each suture comprises a magnesium filament core wrapped in poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanofibers, alongside an outer layer of polycaprolactone (PCL), a commonly used biodegradable polymer.
Unlike conventional electrotherapy devices, which are usually cumbersome and require external power sources, these sutures utilize the triboelectric effect to harvest energy from daily motions of the body, thereby generating electricity that aids wound healing.
The research team successfully created a thin, durable suture by meticulously tweaking polymer molecular weights and refining fiber spinning techniques over two years. In lab tests, the sutures produced about 2.3 volts during typical activity and notably accelerated wound closure by up to 50 percent compared to standard sutures. Bacterial levels were also markedly reduced without the need for routine antiseptics, reducing infection risks.
As Hui Wang, a chief physician at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, highlighted, future studies could delve into the molecular methods by which electrical stimulation influences healing. Further trials in clinical conditions are necessary to evaluate the sutures’ effectiveness on humans. Success in these trials could revolutionize injury treatment, according to Professor Chengyi Hou.
The findings were published online on October 8 in Nature Communications and promise exciting developments in the field of biomedical engineering.