Edith Perret researching medical textiles

At the Advanced Fibers lab of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in St.Gallen, research is being carried out into medical textiles. Here, Empa researcher Edith Perret is developing polymer fibers with a liquid core made of medical active ingredients. They are intended to be able to be processed into medical textiles such as sutures, wound dressings or textile implants.

“Thanks to a variety of parameters, the properties of the medical fibers can be precisely controlled”, comments Perret in a corresponding press release issued by Empa. During lab tests, her team analyzed the influence of the fiber thickness and structure on the rate at which the active ingredients are released from the core. They discovered that active ingredients made up of small molecules escape through the structure of the outer sheath, while larger molecules escape at the ends of the fibers.

For temperature-sensitive active ingredients, the researchers were initially able to produce the fibers using a placeholder in the liquid core, which can then later be replaced by the actual active ingredient. In the next step, the researchers will turn their attention towards producing surgical sutures with antimicrobial active ingredients. In future, Perret will seek to develop further clinical applications in collaboration with clinical partners. Together with a Swiss industrial partner, for example, the Empa researchers have already demonstrated that the process is suitable for industrial scale applications as well. ce/hs