Development of Biocompatible Dressings for the Delivery of Analgesics to Burn Wounds

This Phase I project is relevant to the goals of this program announcement given the prevalence of complex burn wounds that cause both acute and chronic pain. The current solution to burn-related pain is the administration of systemic opioid pain drugs, which have significant side effects and are highly addictive. Recently, it has been shown that localized delivery of opioids can alleviate pain without the associated risks of systemic delivery; however, no reliable carrier has been identified thus far. An ideal carrier would both act as a wound dressing and provide sustained release of the analgesic. A solution to this problem is to use a keratin hydrogel burn wound dressing (KeraStat) that has been shown to be an effective drug delivery vehicle for the topical delivery of antibiotics and other drugs. This Phase I project seeks to test the feasibility of using KeraStat to provide local, topical extended release of commonly used pain drugs. The studies proposed here will test the release kinetics of several formulations of analgesic-loaded KeraStat. The most promising formulations will then be tested in a mouse paw pain model for pilot efficacy. Together these data, along with data from rheometry performed on the loaded hydrogels, will form the basis for Phase II small and large animal efficacy studies in models relevant to burn pain.