Preparation of 3D woven PPDO fiber and the application in drug release

Poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) is an important biodegradable material used for absorbable surgical sutures. In order to expand the application of PPDO in tissue repair, this work employed melt spinning to prepare PPDO monofilaments and further processed them into PPDO fiber tubes via three-dimensional (3D) weaving technology. The woven PPDO fiber tube exhibited the excellent mechanical stability. After being stretched by 50% of its own length 30 times, its resilience remained 87%. The woven PPDO material achieves effective control of drug release compared to the release behaviors of PPDO monofilament and PVA carrier. The release rate of antibiotics (tetracycline hydrochloride and vancomycin) could reach 99% at 37.5 °C. The release profiles were well-fit by a first-order kinetic model. The sample loaded with tetracycline hydrochloride showed 99% inhibition rate against S.aureus. The degradation test in vitro showed that the mechanical property of woven PPDO fiber tube was relatively stable within one week. Due to the hydrolysis of ester bonds in PPDO, the tensile strength of the sample decreased by 50% at two weeks. The results of this study might bring up a strategy for exploring potential application of PPDO material in orthopedic fixation, tissue filling, and engineered scaffolds.