| Abstract: | The objective of this study was to examine how and to what extent a new degradable polymeric fiber, poly(p-dioxanone), used as a surgical suture material, degrades in the presence of enzymes and after γ-irradiation. The degradation of the fiber was studied mechanically using an Instron and morphologically by SEM. Both esterase and trypsin enzymes and their corresponding buffer controls were used. The fibers were γ-irradiated at the dosages ranging from 0 to 20 Mrad, immersed in the solution for up to 70 days, and then removed for tensile strength and morphological examinations. It was found that γ-irradiation alone lowered the tensile strength of PDS fibers and made them more susceptible to hydrolysis. Esterase and trypsin did not accelerate the hydrolytic degradtion of this fiber to any significant level. Both γ-irradiation and enzymes influenced the gross morphological characteristic of PDS fibers when they were subjected to hydrolysis. The most important morphological observations were the formation of surface cracks and chips on the fibers and the subsequent peeling of the chips. Enzyme-treated PDS fibers exhibited similar morphological findings but the size of the chips was smaller. The morphological observations of PDS fibers were consistent with the tensile strength data. |
