the term “ yarn ( s ),” as used herein , is to be understood as including fiber ( s ), filament ( s ), and the like used to make a suture of the present invention . typically , though , yams are comprised of fibers and / or filaments . referring to fig1 , a scanning electron micrograph of a length of suture 2 according to the present invention is shown . suture 2 is made up of a jacket 4 and a core 6 surrounded by the jacket 4 . see fig2 . strands of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene ( uhmwpe ) 8 , such as that sold under the tradenames spectra and dyneema , strands of polyester 10 , and tinted strands 12 are braided together to form the jacket 4 . core 6 is formed of twisted strands of uhmwpe . uhmwpe , used for strands 8 , is substantially translucent or colorless . the polyester strands 10 are white ( undyed ). due to the transparent nature of the uhmwpe , the suture takes on the color of strands 10 and 12 , and thus appears to be white with a trace in the contrasting color . in accordance with the present invention , trace strands 12 are preferably provided in black . the black trace assists surgeons in distinguishing between suture lengths with the trace and suture lengths without the trace . traces also assist the surgeon in identifying whether the suture is moving . the trace can extend the entire length of the suture or only on half of a length of suture , the other half of the suture length remaining plain ( white ). alternatively , the traces can form visibly distinct coding patterns on each half of the suture length . as a result , when the suture is threaded through the eyelet of a suture anchor , for example , the two legs ( halves ) of the length of suture are easily distinguished , and their direction of travel will be readily evident when the suture is pulled during surgery . details of the present invention will be described further below in connection with the following examples : made on a 16 carrier hobourns machine , the yarns used in the braided jacket are honeywell spectra 2000 , polyester type 712 , and nylon . the jacket is formed using eight strands of 144 decitex spectra per carrier , braided with six strands of 100 decitex polyester , and two strands of tinted nylon . the core is formed of three carriers of 144 decitex spectra braided at three to six twists per inch . a no . 5 suture is produced . to make various sizes of the inventive suture , different decitex values and different ppi settings can be used to achieve the required size and strength needed . in addition , smaller sizes may require manufacture on 12 carrier machines , for example . the very smallest sizes can be made without a core . overall , the suture may range from 5 % to 90 % ultrahigh molecular weight polymer ( preferably at least 40 % of the fibers are ultrahigh molecular weight polymer ), with the balance formed of polyester and / or nylon . the core preferably comprises 18 % or greater of the total amount of filament . the suture is coated with rgd peptide ( pci - 36xx - pi ). the rgd peptide - coating increases permeability of endothelial monolayers , thereby resulting in a decrease in abrasion resistance to the suture . rgd peptides promote cell adhesion to substrates in vivo by interacting with receptors , integrins , on cell surface proteins and thus , rgd peptide - coated sutures perform better than other sutures in surgical applications . peptides may be coupled to or adsorbed to the suture . typically , about 500 ml of coupling buffer , e . g ., about 0 . 1m mes buffer , is prepared and a base , for example naoh , is used to lower the acidity of the coupling buffer to a ph value of about 6 . 0 . in one embodiment of the present invention , peptides are coupled to a suture . for coupling peptides to a suture , the suture is cut into 6 inch strips and soaked into an mes buffer for at least 30 minutes . later , acid hydrolysis is performed , i . e ., the suture is taken from the mes buffer and quickly dipped into an acid medium , for example , about 15 ml of 6n hcl and about 200 ul of h 2 o 2 . thereafter , the suture is immediately put back into the mes buffer and washed several times . edc and sulfo - nhs buffers are added to the mes buffer , for example , about 36 mg of edc and about 99 mg of sulfo - nhs is added to about 90 ml of mes buffer . the suture is removed from the mes buffer and placed into the edc buffer for about 15 minutes . the suture is then washed three times with the mes buffer . about 2 ml of peptide solution is immediately prepared and the suture immersed in the peptide solution . the peptide is allowed to react on the suture at 4 ° c . the suture is then washed about five times with mes buffer and then allowed to air dry under a hood . in another embodiment of the present invention , peptides are adsorbed to a suture . for adsorbing peptides to a suture , the suture is cut into 6 inch strips and soaked in a mes buffer for at least 30 minutes . later , the suture is taken out and immediately placed back into the mes buffer and washed about three times . about 2 ml of peptide solution is immediately prepared and the suture immersed in the peptide solution . the peptide is allowed to react on the suture at 4 ° c . the suture is then washed about five times with mes buffer and then allowed to air dry under the hood . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , a partially bioabsorbable suture is provided by blending a high strength material , such as uhmwpe fibers , with a bioabsorbable material , such as plla or collagen , for example . accordingly , a suture made with about 10 % spectra or dyneema blended with absorbable fibers would provide greater strength and with less stretch . over time , 90 % or more of the suture would absorb , leaving only a very small remnant of the knot . the absorbable suture can include coatings , for example collagen . the ultra high molecular weight ( uhmw ) polymer component of the present invention provides strength , and the polyester component is provided to improve tie ability and tie down characteristics . however , it has been found that the uhmw polymer provides an unexpected advantage of acting as a cushion for the polyester fibers , which are relatively hard and tend to damage each other . the uhmw polymer prevents breakage by reducing damage to the polyester when the suture is subjected to stress . in one method of using the suture of the present invention , the suture 2 is attached to a suture anchor 14 as shown in fig3 ( prepackaged sterile with an inserter 16 ), or is attached at one or both ends to a half round , tapered needle 18 as shown in fig4 a and 4b . fig4 a also illustrates a length of suture having regularly repeating pattern of trace threads according to the present invention . sections of the length of suture 2 have tinted tracing threads woven in . the alternating patterned and plain sections aid the surgeon in determining the direction of suture travel when pulling the suture , for example . although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof , many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art .
a high strength surgical material with improved tie down characteristics and tissue compliance formed of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene yarns , the suture being coated with arginine - glycine - aspartate peptide . the suture has exceptional strength , is ideally suited for most orthopedic procedures , and can be attached to a suture anchor or a curved needle .