PLGA (Lakeshore Biomaterials, Short Hills, New Jersey, USA) 15 per cent w/v (85 : 15) was dissolved for 3 h in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). Calcium peroxide (Sigma‐Aldrich, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA) 10 per cent w/w was added to the PLGA solution. The mixture was stirred for 2 h. Once all components had dissolved, the solution was transferred to a 15‐ml conical tube and stored at −80°C until use.
Vicryl™ 6/0 coated sutures with a P‐1 needle (Ethicon) were wrapped around 1‐cm glass rods and secured with tape. The glass rods were suspended into the oxygenated polymer solution for 5 min. To disperse the CPO particles evenly, samples were vortexed every minute. Sutures were placed on glass trays and allowed to dry overnight. They were then dipped into a 100 per cent ethanol solution to remove any residual DMSO. The samples were air‐dried on plastic trays for a further hour. Sutures were repackaged into the original containers and sterilized using γ radiation (1 mrad, 1 h).
A methylthiazolyldiphenyl‐tetrazolium bromide (Invitrogen™; Fisher Scientific) colorimetric assay, used to evaluate compatibility of human BJ (3T3; American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Wesel, Germany) fibroblasts with the different suture materials, showed no toxicity (data not shown).
Vicryl™ 6/0 coated sutures with a P‐1 needle (Ethicon) were wrapped around 1‐cm glass rods and secured with tape. The glass rods were suspended into the oxygenated polymer solution for 5 min. To disperse the CPO particles evenly, samples were vortexed every minute. Sutures were placed on glass trays and allowed to dry overnight. They were then dipped into a 100 per cent ethanol solution to remove any residual DMSO. The samples were air‐dried on plastic trays for a further hour. Sutures were repackaged into the original containers and sterilized using γ radiation (1 mrad, 1 h).
A methylthiazolyldiphenyl‐tetrazolium bromide (Invitrogen™; Fisher Scientific) colorimetric assay, used to evaluate compatibility of human BJ (3T3; American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Wesel, Germany) fibroblasts with the different suture materials, showed no toxicity (data not shown).