Polydioxanone Suture | PDS suture
Polydioxanone or poly-p-dioxanone is a colourless, crystalline, biodegradable polymer. Polydioxanone suture is an absorbable, sterile, surgical suture composed of the polyester, poly (p-dioxanone). Polydioxanone suture has been found to be non-antigenic, non-pyrogenic, and elicits only minimal tissue reactivity during the absorption process. Polydioxanone is a poly (ether-ester) characterized by a glass transition temperature in the range of 10°C and 0°C and a crystallinity of about 55%. Because of the presence of an ether oxygen group into the backbone of the polymer chain, materials prepared with polydioxanone like suture are provided with a good flexibility. For the production of suture, polydioxanone is generally extruded into fibres, however care should be taken to process the polymer to the lowest possible temperature, in order to avoid its spontaneous de-polymerization back to the monomer. The suture prepared with this material typically lose half of their mechanical strength in about three weeks and complete degradation takes place in a time frame of around six months.
