Mucin Coatings Establish Multifunctional Properties on Commercial Sutures

Gürer U, Fan D, Xu Z, Nawaz Q, Baartman J, Boccaccini AR, Lieleg O (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

ACS Applied Bio Materials American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.4c01793

Abstract

During the wound healing process, complications such as bacterial attachment or inflammation may occur, potentially leading to surgical site infections. To reduce this risk, many commercial sutures contain biocides such as triclosan; however, this chemical has been linked to toxicity and contributes to the occurrence of bacterial resistance. In response to the need for more biocompatible alternatives, we here present an approach inspired by the innate human defense system: utilizing mucin glycoproteins derived from porcine mucus to create more cytocompatible suture coatings with antibiofouling properties. By attaching manually purified mucin to commercially available sutures through a simple and rapid coating process, we obtain sutures with cell-repellent and antibacterial properties toward Gram-positive bacteria. Importantly, our approach preserves the very good mechanical and tribological properties of the sutures while offering options for further modifications: the mucin matrix can either be condensed for controlled localized drug release or covalently functionalized with inorganic nanoparticles for hard tissue applications, which allows for tailoring a commercial suture for specific biomedical use cases.

Authors with CRIS profile

Zhiyan Xu Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffwissenschaften (Biomaterialien) Qaisar Nawaz Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffwissenschaften (Biomaterialien) Aldo Boccaccini Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffwissenschaften (Biomaterialien)

Additional Organisation(s)

FAU Forschungszentrum Neue Wirkstoffe (FAU NeW)

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Gürer, U., Fan, D., Xu, Z., Nawaz, Q., Baartman, J., Boccaccini, A.R., & Lieleg, O. (2025). Mucin Coatings Establish Multifunctional Properties on Commercial Sutures. ACS Applied Bio Materials. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.4c01793

MLA:

Gürer, Ufuk, et al. "Mucin Coatings Establish Multifunctional Properties on Commercial Sutures." ACS Applied Bio Materials (2025).

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