Plasma coated sutures

Abstract

Suture filaments coated by a plasma polymerization process exhibit a good balance of knot run down and knot security characteristics, superior tissue drag characteristics, and improved fray resistance.

1 . A suture comprising: 
 at least one filament; and    a coating formed on at least a portion of a surface of the at least one filament by a plasma polymerization process wherein a polymer coating is formed on the filament surface from a hydrocyclosiloxane monomer of the general formula                          where R is an aliphatic group and n is an integer from about 2 to about 10.    
   
   
       2 . A suture according to  claim 1 , wherein the hydrocyclosiloxane monomer is selected from the group consisting of 1,3,5,7-tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane, 1,3,5,7,9-pentamethylhydrocyclopentasiloxane, 1,3,5,7,9,11-hexamethylhydrocyclohexasiloxane, and a mixture of 1,3,5,7,9-pentamethylcyclopentasiloxane and 1,3,5,6,9,11-hexamethylcyclohexasiloxane monomers.  
   
   
       3 . A suture according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one filament is made from a synthetic, absorbable polymer composition.  
   
   
       4 . A suture according to  claim 3 , wherein the synthetic, absorbable polymer composition comprises a homopolymer or copolymer derived from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, glycolide, lactic acid, lactide, dioxanone, caprolactone, polycaprolactone, epsilon-caprolactone, trimethylene carbonate, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       5 . A suture according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one filament is made from a synthetic, non-absorbable polymer composition.  
   
   
       6 . A suture according to  claim 5 , wherein the synthetic, non-absorbable polymer composition comprises one or more materials selected from the group consisting of nylon and polypropylene.  
   
   
       7 . The suture of  claim 1 , wherein the coating further comprises an amine group that has been introduced onto the coating by plasma polymerization of a gas containing a monomer selected from the group consisting essentially of unsaturated N-protected amines, unsaturated N-unprotected amines, N-protected cyclic aliphatic amines, and N-unprotected cyclic aliphatic amines, to produce an amine grafted polymer coating.  
   
   
       8 . The suture of  claim 7 , wherein the unsaturated or cyclic amine is copolymerized with the hydrocyclosiloxane monomer onto the surface of the at least one filament of the suture.  
   
   
       9 . The suture of  claim 7 , wherein the unsaturated or cyclic amine is plasma grafted onto the coating on the surface of the at least one filament of the suture.  
   
   
       10 . The suture of  claim 7 , wherein said unsaturated or cyclic amine is N-trimethylsilylallylamine.  
   
   
       11 . The suture of  claim 7 , wherein a carbonate-based polyalkylene oxide compound is contacted with the amine grafted polymer coating to produce a polyoxyalkylene modified polymer coating, the carbonate-based polyalkylene oxide compound comprising the general formula  
     
       
         
         
             
             
         
       
     
     wherein R 1  is selected from the group consisting of N-benzotriazole groups, N-2-pyrrolidinone groups, and 2-oxypyrimidine groups, R 2 , R 3  and R 4  are independently selected from the group consisting of alkylene groups having from about 2 to about 3 carbon atoms which may be the same or different, R 5  is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, carbonyloxy-N-benzotriazole groups, carbonyloxy-N-2-pyrrolidinone groups, and carbonyl-2-oxypyrimidine groups, a is an integer from 1 to 1000 and each of b and c is an integer from 0 to 1000, where a+b+c is an integer from 3 to 1000.  
   
   
       12 . The suture of  claim 11  wherein said carbonate-based polyalkylene oxide compound is polyoxyethylene bis-(N-hydroxybenzotriazolyl) carbonate.