A new kind of suture agent could replace sutures and staples, according to researchers. It involves a protein-based suture agent, which under exposure to light creates an elastic and adhesive layer on a wound within 60 seconds.
The new suture agent is called MeTro and was developed by researchers at Birgham and Women's Hospital in collaboration with researchers at US Northeastern University, the also US Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Australian University of Sydney. MeTro stands for 'methacryloyl-substituted tropoelastin'. This is a protein derived from the elastic fibres that make up human tissue.
Disadvantages of sutures and staples
The researchers point out the disadvantages of sutures and staples, especially if sutures need to be air- or fluid-tight under high pressure, such as in vascular or lung surgery. Suture agents have been available for some time, but even these all have limitations, according to the researchers. For instance, some sutures are difficult to apply and others, although elastic, do not adhere well in dynamic environments such as the human lung. In addition, according to the researchers, there is no commercial suture agent available that is approved for use without sutures or staples.
"A good surgical suture should have a combination of properties: it should be elastic, adhesive, non-toxic and biocompatible," said Nasim Annabi of Northeastern University. "Most adhesives on the market contain one or two of these properties, but not all of them. We focused on making a material that contains all these properties."
MeTro
This material has become MeTro. Unlike many other suture materials, this suture is not based on synthetic material, but on methacryloyl-substituted tropoelastin. This is a protein extracted from the elastic fibres that make up human tissue. This material is modified in a laboratory. Because the suture is based on natural material instead of synthetic material, it is much more biocompatible than other sutures, according to the researchers.
MeTro is dissolved in distilled water to create a hydrogel, which can be applied to a wound. This hydrogel can be converted into an elastic and adhesive layer using UV light, which takes about 60 seconds. MeTro is broken down by the human body, so there is no need to remove the suture agent at a later stage. The rate of degradation depends on the ratio of MeTro incorporated in the hydrogel. By fine-tuning this, it is therefore possible to determine how long the suture agent will be functional.
Tissue regeneration
In fact, the use of methacryloyl-substituted tropoelastin not only makes the agent more biocompatible than other sutures, but also provides another important advantage. "We have observed that this is not simply a suture agent, but even helps in tissue regeneration," Annabi said. For example, the drug could be applied to the heart muscle after a heart attack to promote the repair of damaged tissue.
The researchers have successfully tested MeTro on rats and pigs, among others. The team now plans to conduct initial clinical trials and further develop the suture agent. The team hopes the drug will be available in hospitals within three to five years.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Birgham and Women's Hospital
Source: Science Magazine
Source photo: Pixabay / sasint
