The potential of microalgal sources as coating materials: A case study for the development of biocompatible surgical sutures

Abstract

Sutures are considered as surgical materials that f orm e x cellent surf aces to integrate the postoperativ e parts of the body. These materials present suitable platforms for potential bacterial penetrations. Therefore, coating these biomedical materials with biocompatible compounds is seen as a potential approach to impro v e their properties while a v oiding adv erse effects. T he aim of this study was to evaluate Arthrospira platensis, Haematacoccus pluvialis, Chlorella minutissima, Botyrococcus braunii , and Nostoc muscorum as potential surgical suture coating materials. T heir crude e xtracts w ere absorbed into tw o different sutures as poly glycolic (90%)-co-lactic acid (10%) (PGLA) and poly dio xanone (PD O); then, their cytotoxic effects and antibacterial activities w ere e xamined. B oth N. muscor um- coated sut ures (PGLA and PDO) and A. platensis- coated (PGLA and PDO) sutures did not induce any toxic effect on L929 mouse fibroblast cells ( > 70% cell viability). The highest antibacterial activit y against St aph ylococcus aureus w as achie v ed with N. muscorum- coated PGLA and A. platensis- coated PGLA at 11.18 ±0.54 mm and 9.52 ±1.15 mm, respectiv ely. T hese sutures w ere e xamined b y mechanical analy sis, and f ound suitable according to ISO 10993-5. In comparison with the commercial antibacterial agent (chlorohexidine), the results proved that N. muscorum extract can be considered as the most promising suture coating material for the human applications.