In a groundbreaking medical study, scientists have developed a new type of bioresorbable electrical stimulation (ES) suture (BioES-suture), which not only accelerates wound healing but also shows therapeutic effects and economy than traditional sutures in mouse experiments. This research result was recently published in the journal Nature Communications, providing a new direction for future wound treatment.

The treatment of chronic and acute surgical wounds has always been an important topic in the medical field. Although traditional sutures can close wounds, they cannot accelerate the healing process. Electrical stimulation (ES), as a non-drug therapy, has been shown to effectively promote wound healing, but existing self-powered ES devices are mostly used for micro-trauma, nerve or bone repair, and are not suitable for large wounds that require sutures.

The BioES-suture developed by the researchers is a passive continuous bioabsorbable electromechanical fiber, which is prepared by a continuous process to twist polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanofibers onto the surface of magnesium wire electrodes to form preassembled core fibers (Mg@PLGA). This design enables the BioES-suture to generate electrical energy through a triboelectric mechanism during muscle contraction-relaxation, providing electrical stimulation for wound healing.

In laboratory tests, BioES-suture showed higher tensile strength than commercial sutures and performed well in biocompatibility tests. In in vivo tests, the researchers sutured BioES-suture into rat leg muscles and found that it was able to effectively convert body movements into stable electrical impulses to promote wound healing. In addition, the wound healing rate of rats using BioES-suture was significantly higher than that of rats using traditional sutures.

BioES-suture not only accelerates wound healing but also shows the potential in reducing the risk of infection. In a rat wound infection model, wounds treated with BioES-suture showed lower bacterial counts, and even without daily disinfection, its antibacterial effect was comparable to the traditional method of daily disinfection.

The success of this study paves the way for the clinical application of BioES-suture. The researchers said that BioES-suture is a safe, advanced, biodegradable suture that is expected to be translated into clinical practice in the future to provide patients with more effective wound treatment options.

Journal reference:

Sun Z, Jin Y, Luo J, et al. A bioabsorbable mechanoelectric fiber as electrical stimulation suture. _Nat Commun_, 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52354-x

[https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52354-x](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52354-x)