縫合材料為用來將傷口或外科手術後的人體組織縫合在一起。有效地縫合是讓手術成功的重要關鍵之一，其取決於許多因素如醫師技術、縫合針的品質與耐用度等。另外，在微創手術中，因受限於手術空間與手部靈活度，常使縫合的時間拉長，同時也增加手術部位被感染的風險。因此改善縫合針之使用效率與耐用度，不僅可以減少手術過程中感染之風險，亦能提升醫療品質。
藉金屬玻璃之高強度、低摩擦係數以及耐磨耗等優異性質，以及先期研究中發現之抗菌、抗血小板與癌細胞沾黏等良好的生物相容性質，本研究將60奈米厚的鋯基(Zr53Cu33Al9Ta5)金屬玻璃薄膜以磁控式濺鍍鍍覆於縫合針上，在四十次的穿刺試驗中，以裸針與具潤滑塗層的針作為對照組，用最大穿刺力的增值評估金屬玻璃鍍層在針體上的表現。在本研究中亦準備兩種不同的縫合針(6/0 反角針，7/0 圓體角針)分別對仿生材料聚氨基甲酸乙脂橡膠塊和臨床用人工血管進行多次的定速穿刺試驗。
在6/0角針對橡膠塊進行四十次穿刺試驗後，裸針的平均穿刺力達到2.21 N，具潤滑層的針為2.23 N，而有金屬玻璃鍍層的針僅1.9 N，在多次穿刺後據金屬玻璃鍍層的針可得較小之穿刺力。在對橡膠的多次穿刺試驗中，具金屬玻璃鍍層的針表現出最小的穿刺力增值(2-8 %)遠低於裸針(~42 %)和具潤滑層的針(48-59 %)，此外，在穿刺試驗前後表面粗糙度測試中，比起裸針(~24 %)，具金屬玻璃鍍層的針有較小的粗糙度增值(~5 %)，金屬玻璃鍍層表現出優異的保護與耐磨耗功效。在對層狀人工血管的四十次穿刺試驗中，具金屬玻璃的針(~4 %)亦展現出比裸針(~22 %)和具潤滑層針(~20 %)小的穿刺力增值；而在針體與組織間作用力的調查中，亦得到相同的趨勢，表示金屬玻璃鍍層不僅能保護針尖同時也能保護針體。整體而言，金屬玻璃鍍層在不同大小與針型上都能有效地保護縫合針，提升其耐用度，即使對不同的穿刺材料下亦能得到同樣優異的結果。

Suture material is used to bring tissue or skin together in a wound or surgical laceration to aid in healing of the wound. Effective wound closure is important for success of any surgical procedure, which is determined by surgical techniques, the durability and the quality of suture needles. Suturing during some surgery operations, such as Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), remains a time-consuming task with a high-risk of infection, so that improving the efficacy of suture materials is critical to reduce infections.
Owing to the amorphous nature, thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs) exhibit exceptional mechanical properties, such as high strength, good wear-resistance and low coefficient of friction. In addition, TFMGs have been reported to show good biocompatibility and antibacterial properties. TFMG coating can be a potential candidate for enhancing the surface properties of needles. In this study, two types of suture needles (6/0 reverse cutting needle and 7/0 taper cutting needle) with 60-nm-thick Zr-based (Zr53Cu33Al9Ta5) TFMG coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering are prepared to compare the performance with bare needles and the needles with lubricant in the 40-time insertion tests against homogenous polyurethane rubber and vascular graft, respectively.
The average values of peak loads after 40-time insertion tests conducted with 6/0 needles against polyurethane rubber are 2.21 N for bare needles, 2.23 N for the needle with lubricant, and 1.9 N for TFMG-coated needle. After 40-time insertion tests against rubber, TFMG samples show the smallest peak-load increments (2-8 %) than bare samples (~42 %) and the needles with lubricant (48-59 %). Also, the surface-roughness increments (before and after tests) of TFMG samples (~ 5 %) are lower than that of bare samples (~24 %), which is consistent with the results in force increments and suggests the excellent protection function and wear performance of TFMG coatings. In the insertion tests against vascular graft, the force increments of TFMG samples (~4 %) are still lower than bare samples (~22 %) and the needles with lubricant (~20 %), and the similar tendency also can be obtain from the investigation of needle-body/tissue interaction forces, implying that TFMG coatings not only can protect the needle tips but also needle bodies. On the whole, TFMG coatings can effectively protect the needle samples, irrespective of testing materials and needle types.

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