Preparation and characterization of novel biodegradable fiber material

An important and growing part of the textile industry consists of the medical, healthcare and hygiene sectors. The extend of the growth is due to the constant improvements and innovations in both textile technology and medical procedures. Textile materials have been indispensable in the medical area. It has helped the medical world in every form and shape. Staple fibres are used for cleaning wounds, bandages for covering wounds, sutures are indispensable for surgery, plasters for joining bone fractures and knitted vascular grafts widely used to replace arteries. There has been a steady development in these textiles used for medical purposes, are more commonly termed as "medical textiles". Medical textiles are a major thrust area within the technical textile industry and the range of applications continue to bloom and increase its diversity with every new development. In the past decades, more and more efforts have been expanded on the development of new materials for the use as surgical sutures, especially absorbable sutures with satisfactory tensile strength and excellent biocompatibility. The degradation behaviour of suture materials is very important.