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EP-4735062-A1 - NATURAL FIBERS HAVING ABSORBABLE AND HYDROPHOBIC PROPERTIES FOR MAKING SURGICAL SUTURES AND SURGICAL MESHES

EP4735062A1EP 4735062 A1EP4735062 A1EP 4735062A1EP-4735062-A1

Abstract

Suture materials for producing medical devices are provided. The suture materials can include natural fibers, and can be suitable for making multifilament sutures and surgical meshes comprising multifilament sutures as examples of medical devices. The multifilament suture can include a plurality of filaments combined together according to a twined pattern, and at least one filament of the plurality of filaments can include natural fibers, synthetic fibers, or mineral-based fibers. A suture device can include the multifilament suture combined with a suture needle. The multifilament suture can be coated with a biocompatible coating, such as a bioactive agent, and/or include a first set of filaments that includes natural fibers and a second set of filaments that includes natural fibers that are different from the natural fibers of the first set of filaments, synthetic fibers or mineral-based fibers, for instance.

Inventors

  • GAGNER, MICHEL

Assignees

  • Ballast Medical Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240507

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A multifilament suture for use as a surgical suture, the multifilament suture comprising: a plurality of filaments combined together according to a twined pattern, at least one filament of the plurality of filaments comprising natural fibers, the natural fibers being both absorbable and hydrophobic at physiological conditions.
  2. 2. The multifilament suture of claim 1 , wherein the natural fibers of the at least one filament are absorbable by proteolysis and/or hydrolysis.
  3. 3. The multifilament suture of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one filament of the plurality of filaments is configured to prevent bacterial adhesion in an interstice defined between adjacent filaments of the plurality of filaments.
  4. 4. The multifilament suture of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the natural fibers comprise cellulosic plant fibers.
  5. 5. The multifilament suture of claim 4, wherein the cellulosic plant fibers comprise milkweed fibers.
  6. 6. The multifilament suture of claim 5, wherein the milkweed fibers include one or more of Asclepias Syriaca fibers and Asclepias Speciosa fibers.
  7. 7. The multifilament suture of claim 5 or 6, wherein the plurality of filaments further comprises additional natural fibers that are different from the milkweed fibers.
  8. 8. The multifilament suture of claim 7, wherein the additional natural fibers comprise cellulosic plant fibers.
  9. 9. The multifilament suture of claim 7 or 8, wherein the additional natural fibers comprise one or more of kapok fibers, bamboo fibers, linen fibers, cotton fibers, abaca fibers, acetate fibers, banana fibers, coir fibers, flax fibers, hemp fibers, jute fibers, kenaf fibers, lyocell fibers, modal fibers, pina fibers, raffia fibers, ramie fibers, rayon fibers, sisal fibers, and soy protein fibers.
  10. 10. The multifilament suture of claim 7, wherein the additional natural fibers comprise animal fibers.
  11. 11 . The multifilament suture of claim 7 or 10, wherein the additional natural fibers comprise one or more of spider silk fibers, wool fibers, alpaca fibers, angora wool fibers, azlon fibers, byssus fibers, camel hair fibers, cashmere wool fibers, chiengora fibers, lambswool fibers, llama fibers, mohair wool fibers, qiviut fibers, rabbit fibers, silk fibers, eri silk fibers, vicuna fibers, and yak fibers.
  12. 12. The multifilament suture of any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the plurality of filaments further comprises synthetic fibers.
  13. 13. The multifilament suture of claim 12, wherein the synthetic fibres comprise one or more of acrylic fibers, Kevlar™ fibers, modacrylic fibers, Nomex™ fibers, nylon fibers, polyester fibers, spandex fibers, and rayon fibers.
  14. 14. The multifilament suture of claim 12, wherein the synthetic fibres are absorbable synthetic fibers.
  15. 15. The multifilament suture of claim 14, wherein the absorbable synthetic fibers comprise one or more of polyglactin, lactides, polyglycolic acid, polylactic acid, glycolide, p- dioxanone, epsilon-caprolactone, and trimethylene carbonate.
  16. 16. The multifilament suture of any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the plurality of filaments further comprises mineral-based fibers.
  17. 17. The multifilament suture of claim 16, wherein the mineral-based fibers comprise one or more of glass fibers, and fiberglass fibers.
  18. 18. The multifilament suture of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the filaments of the plurality of filaments are braided or interlaced according to the twined pattern.
  19. 19. The multifilament suture of claim 18, wherein the twined pattern is a one over one twined pattern.
  20. 20. The multifilament suture of claim 18, wherein the twined pattern is a one over two twined pattern.

Description

NATURAL FIBERS HAVING ABSORBABLE AND HYDROPHOBIC PROPERTIES FOR MAKING SURGICAL SUTURES AND SURGICAL MESHES TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The technical field relates to medical devices for treating damaged tissues, such as surgical suture and surgical meshes. More particularly, the technical field relates to natural fibers for making surgical sutures and surgical meshes. BACKGROUND [0002] Surgical sutures and surgical meshes are medical devices that can be used in a broad range of surgical procedures. For instance, surgical sutures can be used to approximate portions of biological tissue after such tissue has been subjected to an injury or surgery, which in turn can facilitate natural healing processes to occur. Surgical meshes can be used as tissue scaffolds or structural supports to encourage growth of new biological tissue at a target tissue site in a patient to occlude an opening in an organ wall or to repair a tendon or a hernia, for instance. [0003] Surgical sutures and surgical meshes are generally made from biocompatible materials, such as synthetic and natural biocompatible materials, which may be nonabsorbable or absorbable physiological conditions. These biocompatible materials can also be further categorized according to whether their physical structure corresponds to a monofilament or a multifilament. [0004] Selection of a suture material for a surgical suture or a surgical mesh for a given surgical procedure can be made according to various factors, including the tensile strength of the suture material, its ability to resist infection, the friction it generates, the inflammatory response it may trigger, etc. For instance, in the case of surgical sutures, the surgical material can typically be selected to enable the approximation of healthy tissue edges with minimal tension, ideally no contamination or infection, and adequate blood supply. [0005] However, while surgical materials currently available may perform sufficiently well in certain clinical scenarios, each of these currently available surgical materials also has drawbacks that may impair the healing processes that should be taking place. For instance, surgical materials that are provided as multifilament are generally stronger than those provided as monofilaments, but multifilament can also generate high friction and tissue-drag when passing through the tissues, resulting in additional trauma. Furthermore, interstices defined between adjacent filaments of multifilament sutures can increase the capillarity of the multifilament sutures and provide ideal locations to harbour bacteria, which may lead to higher risks of infections. Although multifilament sutures can be treated with a coating to counteract these drawbacks, these coatings are known to undesirably decrease knot security. [0006] Accordingly, there remain a number of challenges with respect to surgical sutures and surgical meshes, and in particular, challenges related to the selection of surgical materials for preparing surgical sutures and surgical meshes. SUMMARY [0007] In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a multifilament suture for use as a surgical suture, the multifilament suture comprising: a plurality of filaments combined together according to a twined pattern, at least one filament of the plurality of filaments comprising natural fibers, the natural fibers being both absorbable and hydrophobic at physiological conditions. [0008] In some implementations, the natural fibers of the at least one filament are absorbable by proteolysis and/or hydrolysis. [0009] In some implementations, the at least one filament of the plurality of filaments is configured to prevent bacterial adhesion in an interstice defined between adjacent filaments of the plurality of filaments. [0010] In some implementations, the natural fibers comprise cellulosic plant fibers. [0011] In some implementations, the cellulosic plant fibers comprise milkweed fibers. [0012] In some implementations, the milkweed fibers include one or more of Asclepias Syriaca fibers and Asclepias Speciosa fibers. [0013] In some implementations, the plurality of filaments further comprises additional natural fibers that are different from the milkweed fibers. [0014] In some implementations, the additional natural fibers comprise cellulosic plant fibers. [0015] In some implementations, the additional natural fibers comprise one or more of kapok fibers, bamboo fibers, linen fibers, cotton fibers, abaca fibers, acetate fibers, banana fibers, coir fibers, flax fibers, hemp fibers, jute fibers, kenaf fibers, lyocell fibers, modal fibers, pina fibers, raffia fibers, ramie fibers, rayon fibers, sisal fibers, and soy protein fibers. [0016] In some implementations, the additional natural fibers comprise animal fibers. [0017] In some implementations, the additional natural fibers comprise one or more of spider silk fibers, wool fibers, alpaca fibers, angora wool fibers, azlon fibers, byssus fibers, camel hair fibers, cashmere wool