Numbers of viable bacteria in suspension incubated for 3 hours with novel antimicrobial sutures.

<p>An initial <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> concentration of 1.3 x 10⁸ cfu/ml was used for bacterial suspensions. Chlorhexidine- or octenidine-coated sutures showed a strong inhibition of pathogens in the surrounding suspensions. The triclosan-coated suture Vicryl^® Plus (VP) and the uncoated Gunze suture (G) were used as controls. Fatty acid-coated sutures (PA80, LA80) and commercial sutures without any drug content (V: Vicryl^®, R: PGA Resorba^®) were tested within the non-antimicrobial suture group. Significance levels are p<0.05 (*), p<0.01 (**) and p<0.001 (***); n.s.: not significant, n.a.: not applicable.</p

Overview of the prepared novel antimicrobially coated sutures.

<p>Overview of the prepared novel antimicrobially coated sutures.</p

Numbers of adhered <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> colonies on sutures’ surfaces per cm sample after 3 hours of incubation in on average 1.3 x 10⁸ cfu/ml bacterial suspension.

<p>Viably adhered numbers of bacteria and their reductions compared to uncoated Gunze (G) suture. <b>Left</b> (up to dashed line): Sutures coated with antimicrobial substances, such as chlorhexidine-laurate (CL), chlorhexidine-palmitate (CP), octenidine-laurate (OL), and octenidine-palmitate (OP) each with the drug concentration 11, 22, and 33 μg/cm. Novel coated sutures were also compared to commercially available triclosan-containing Vicryl^® Plus (VP) suture. <b>Right</b>: Groups of sutures without active antimicrobial agents, uncoated Gunze (G), coated with fatty acids (PA80, LA80) and commercially available common resorbable sutures (V: Vicryl^®, R: PGA Resorba^®). Significance levels are p<0.05 (*), p<0.01 (**) and p<0.001 (***); n.s.: not significant, n.a.: not applicable.</p

Rating levels used for comparative antimicrobial suture evaluation.

<p>Rating levels used for comparative antimicrobial suture evaluation.</p

Zone of inhibition assay for five bacterial species over 48 hours.

<p>Zones of inhibition in millimeter for each coating type at 22 μg/cm drug content (CL22, CP22, OL22, OP22) on sutures. Test strains used were <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i>, <i>MRSA</i>, <i>S</i>. <i>epidermidis</i>, <i>E</i>. <i>faecalis</i> and <i>E</i>. <i>coli</i> after A) 24 hours and B) 48 hours test period.</p

Numbers of viable bacteria in suspension incubated for 3 hours with novel antimicrobial sutures.

<p>An initial <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> concentration of 1.3 x 10⁸ cfu/ml was used for bacterial suspensions. Chlorhexidine- or octenidine-coated sutures showed a strong inhibition of pathogens in the surrounding suspensions. The triclosan-coated suture Vicryl^® Plus (VP) and the uncoated Gunze suture (G) were used as controls. Fatty acid-coated sutures (PA80, LA80) and commercial sutures without any drug content (V: Vicryl^®, R: PGA Resorba^®) were tested within the non-antimicrobial suture group. Significance levels are p<0.05 (*), p<0.01 (**) and p<0.001 (***); n.s.: not significant, n.a.: not applicable.</p

SEM pictures following bacterial exposure of coated sutures to visualize adhered bacteria and estimate their number semi-quantitatively (magnification 2,500x).

<p>Sutures were incubated in <i>S</i>.<i>aureus</i> suspension at 1.3 x 10⁸ cfu/ml for 3 hours. <b>Left</b>: Novel antimicrobially coated sutures are shown for the lowest and highest drug concentrations at 11μg/cm and 33μg/cm, respectively. Chlorhexidine-coated sutures (CL11, CL33, CP11, and CP33) and octenidine-coated sutures (OL11, OL33, OP11, and OP33) depicted for laurate or palmitate carriers. The commercial antimicrobial triclosan reference Vicryl® Plus (VP) is also shown in the last row. <b>Right</b>: Suture references without antimicrobial substances (G, R, LA80, PA80, and V). Adhered bacteria were exemplarily marked with an asterisk (*). Images are representative of three numbers of fields from three suture replicates.</p

Evaluation of the novel antimicrobial sutures using chlorhexidine or octenidine at 11 μg/cm drug compared to commercial triclosan-containing Vicryl^® Plus.

<p>Evaluation of the novel antimicrobial sutures using chlorhexidine or octenidine at 11 μg/cm drug compared to commercial triclosan-containing Vicryl^® Plus.</p