Process for manufacturing sutures from copolymers of glycolide and epsilon-caprolactone

摘要

Production of a suture from a copolymer of glycolide and epsilon-caprolactone is effected by (a) extruding a melted copolymer of glycolide and epsilon-caprolactone resin through an orifice and rapidly quenching the melted copolymer resin to produce a filament; (b) drawing the filament at 4x to about 7.5x in a 1st drawing zone to produce a drawn filament; (c) drawing the singly drawn filament in a 2nd drawing zone to 1x to about 4x while in a 1st heated zone at 150-450 [deg]F to form a doubly drawn filament; (d) relaxing the doubly drawn filament in the range = 0.75x to about 0.98x in a 2nd heated zone at 100-400 [deg]F to form a relaxed filament; then (e) rack annealing the relaxed filament to form the suture. Also claimed is a glycolide/epsilon-caprolactone suture is also claimed.