Natural cellulose fibers derived from Dracaena angolensis (Welw. ex Carrière) Byng & Christenh. demonstrate potential as a non-absorbable surgical suture biomaterial

Abstract

Sutures from natural and synthetic materials are utilized to close wounds, stop bleeding, reduce pain and infection, repair cutaneous wounds, minimize scarring, and promote optimal wound healing. We used mechanical and chemical methods to extract cellulose fibers from cylindrical snake grass (Dracaena angolensis) (Welw. ex Carrière) Byng & Christenh. Following the extraction process, the fibers increased in cellulose and water content, while hemicellulose and lignin decreased. The extracted fibers exhibited good mechanical properties, with weight losses of 7.4% in deionized water (DI) and 13.7% in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). In comparison, the commercial braided silk sutures (Mersilk braided silk non-absorbable suture) used as a control showed no weight loss. However, the morphology of the fibers remained consistent throughout the 35-day immersion period in either DI or PBS. In an in vivo biocompatibility test, a semi-quantitative analysis of host tissue reactions indicated no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the two suturing materials across all criteria, confirming the comparable biocompatibility of cylindrical snake grass fibers to that of commercial silk sutures. These findings demonstrate the promising potential of natural cellulose fibers derived from cylindrical snake grass as an alternative source of a non-absorbable surgical suture biomaterial, attributed to their outstanding mechanical properties and biocompatibility.

Keywords: Dracaena angolensis (Welw. ex Carrière) Byng & Christenh; Cellulose; Cylindrical snake grass; Natural fibers; Non-absorbable suture material.

Fig. 1

Cylindrical snake grass stalks.

Fig. 2

Macroscopic images of a cylindrical snake grass fiber in comparison with a commercial silk suture 5 − 0. Simple interrupted sutures of cylindrical snake grass sutures (white) and commercial silk sutures (black) along both sides of the dorsal thoracic region of the rat. (Created with Biorender.com)

Fig. 3

The upper panel shows the cylindrical snake grass fibers after the different fiber extraction processes, including (F1; a & d) hand-operated mechanical decorticator machine, (F2; b & e) a mechanical decorticator to further remove lignin, gum, pectin, and dirt, and (F3; c & f) soaked in ethanol for 2 h at room temperature and subsequently dried. The lower two panels show SEM micrographs of cylindrical snake grass fibers. Magnification 250× (scale bar = 100 μm for a-c). Magnification 500× (scale bar = 50 μm for d-f).

Fig. 4

FT-IR spectrum of (a) F₁ (b) F₂ (c) F₃.

Fig. 5

X-ray diffraction curves of (a) cylindrical snake grass fiber (F3) (b) commercial silk suture.

Fig. 6

The weight loss (%) of silk suture and cylindrical snake grass fibers after immersion in DI or PBS over time. Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD; n = 3). Two-way ANOVA followed by post hoc Tukey test. *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001 vs. silk suture in PBS or DI; ^#p < 0.05 vs. cylindrical snake fibers in DI.

Fig. 7

SEM micrographs of cylindrical snake grass sutures and silk sutures after immersion in DI or PBS over time. (A) cylindrical snake grass fibers at day 0; (a-f) in DI; (g–l) in PBS; (B) commercial silk suture at day 0; (m-r) in DI; (s-x) in PBS. Magnification 500× (scale bar = 50 μm).

Fig. 8

(A) Simple interrupted sutures of cylindrical snake grass sutures (white suture; 3 stitches) and commercial silk sutures (black suture; 3 stitches) along both sides of the dorsal thoracic region of the rat at day 0 (a) and day 7 (b) post-suturing. (B) Microscopic images showing the differences between the paraffin sections of longitudinal and transverse sections of both sutures. (Ba) longitudinal; (Bb) transverse sections of silk fibers; (Bc) longitudinal; (Bd) transverse section of cylindrical snake grass fibers. (C) Histological findings of the suture materials 7-day post-suturing. (Ca & Cb) Inflammatory cells infiltrated the dermis and extended to adjacent tissue (asterisks). (Cc & Cd) Residue (black arrows) of both suture materials were found and surrounded by multinucleated giant cells (white arrows). e = Epidermis. d = Dermis. m = Muscular layer. Bar (4x) = 500 μm. Bar (40x) = 50 μm. (D) Semi-quantitative analysis of histopathological scoring. All data are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 6/group).