Ancient Greece’s Gut Sutures Inspire Stitches To Deliver Drugs, Monitor Wounds

In ancient Greece, warriors were patched up using a type of suture known as catgut. However, the name is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with cats. Instead, it’s made up of silk and the intestines of sheep and horses. It served well in saving gladiators, as it could dissolve on its own in 90 days. 
 
While looking back to the past, scientists are moving forward with new medical advancements that build on this idea of catgut, and can deliver drugs to the surgical site and monitor a wound.
 
In creating this new modern version, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team took pig tissues, decellularized them, and turned them into a cell-free material called “De-gut.”
 
De-gut was then coated in hydrogels with sensors made from microparticles that could detect inflammation enzymes in tissue. Drugs were also mixed in to aid in recovering the wound. 
 
The team also experimented with having the suture deliver stem cells that could express fluorescent markers. Professionals could then track the glowing cells as it produced a substance called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stimulated new blood cells to heal the area.
 
“What we have is a suture that is bioderived and modified with a hydrogel coating capable of being a reservoir for sensors for inflammation or for drugs such as monoclonal antibodies to treat inflammation,” said Giovanni Traverso, the study’s senior author. “Remarkably, the coating also has the capacity to retain cells that are viable for a prolonged period.” 
 
The study was first inspired to aid Crohn’s disease patients who, in severe instances, will need to have parts of their intestinal tract removed.

The study was published in the Matter journal.
 
 
 
[via New Atlas and Interesting Engineering, Photo 131033450 © Allexxandar | Dreamstime.com]