Novel Antibiotic-Eluting Wound Dressings: In-vitro and In-vivo Study and Engineering Aspects in the Dressing's Design

摘要

Despite advances in treatment regimens and the best efforts of nurses and doctors, about 70% of all people with severe burns die from related infections. We propose a new biodegradable composite wound dressing that can be loaded with drugs like antibiotics to speed up the healing process. Local administration of antibiotics at the wound can give relatively high but local doses of antibiotics, avoiding any toxicity issues that arise when the same amount of antibiotic passes through the body. Our new composite dressing material, based on a polyglyconate mesh, coated with a porous Poly(dl-lactic-co-glycolic acid) matrix, is designed to protect the wound until it is no longer needed, after which it dissolves away by chemical degradation to non-toxic products. Avoiding constant wound cleaning and redressing should enable the body to better cope with healing and reduce patient pain and suffering. This dressing concept also solves current mechanical and physical limitations in wound-dressing techniques and gives physicians a new and more effective platform for treating wounds.