title: Fiber from ramie plant (Boehmeria nivea): A novel suture biomaterial.
abstract: The quest for developing an ideal suture material prompted our interest to develop a novel suture with advantageous characters to market available ones. From natural origin only silk, cotton and linen fibers are presently available in market as non-absorbable suture biomaterials. In this study, we have developed a novel, cost-effective, and biocompatible suture biomaterial from ramie plant, Boehmeria nivea fiber. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) results revealed the physicochemical properties of raw and degummed ramie fiber, where the former one showed desirable characteristics for suture preparation. The braided multifilament ramie suture prepared from degummed fiber exhibited excellent tensile strength. The suture found to be biocompatible towards human erythrocytes and nontoxic to mammalian cells. The fabricated ramie suture exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus; which can be attributed to the inherent bacteriostatic ability of ramie plant fiber. In vivo wound closure efficacy was evaluated in adult male wister rats by suturing the superficial wound incisions. Within seven days of surgery the wound got completely healed leaving no rash and scar. The role of the ramie suture in complete wound healing was supported by the reduced levels of serum inflammatory mediators. Histopathology studies confirmed the wound healing ability of ramie suture, as rapid synthesis of collagen, connective tissue and other skin adnexal structures were observed within seven days of surgery. Tensile properties, biocompatibility and wound closure efficacy of the ramie suture were comparable with market available BMSF suture. The outcome of this study can drive tremendous possibility for the utilization of ramie plant fiber for various biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Drug discovery laboratory, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781035, India.
authors.forename: Raghuram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kandimalla
authors.affiliation: Drug discovery laboratory, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781035, India.
authors.forename: Sanjeeb
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kalita
authors.affiliation: Drug discovery laboratory, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781035, India.
authors.forename: Bhaswati
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Choudhury
authors.affiliation: Seri biotech laboratory, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781035, India.
authors.forename: Dipali
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Devi
authors.affiliation: Government Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Jalukbari, Guwahati, Assam 781014, India.
authors.forename: Dhaneswar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kalita
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hayat Hospital, Guwahati, Assam 781034, India.
authors.forename: Kasturi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kalita
authors.affiliation: Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of pharmaceutical science, Azara, Guwahati, Assam 781017, India.
authors.forename: Suvakanta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dash
authors.affiliation: Drug discovery laboratory, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781035, India. Electronic address: jkotoky@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jibon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kotoky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D032402:Boehmeria / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D013537:Sutures; D013718:Tensile Strength; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: BMSF; Biocompatible; Ramie plant fiber; Superficial wounds; Suture biomaterial