News Materials Science

Self-Sutures: New material knots up on its own

By Jessica Gorman

- More than 2 years ago

Researchers have used a new biodegradable material to make surgical sutures that knot and tighten themselves as they warm to body temperature.

SMART THREADS. A suture in a rat tightens as the material warms from 20C to 37C to 41C. Science

The new material could help surgeons working in tight spaces within the body, says Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.