Antimicrobial Microbead Containing Topical Gel for Burn Wound Disinfection

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant In the U S there are more than hospitalizations annually related to burn injury with more than of these admissions to the U S burn centers resulting in more than $ billion in healthcare costs Burn wounds may become infected through patient self infection from their own normal flora or by nosocomial infection between healthcare provider or facility and the patient To prevent and or treat these infections topical antimicrobial agents are applied at the wound site The most commonly applied topical treatments are based on the release of silver ions through a compound e g silver sulfadiazine or dressing Although silver can act as a potent antimicrobial depending on the delivery vector cytotoxicity may result in leukopenia and impeded wound healing through inhibition of epithelial regeneration Therefore a new broad spectrum antimicrobial topical material is proposed The overall objective of this research effort is to demonstrate a new potent broad spectrum biocompatible and biodegradable antimicrobial material for treating burn wound infections Achievement of the following aims will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed topical antimicrobial demonstrate release of antimicrobial agent from a full biocompatible and biodegradable substrate demonstrate broad spectrum antimicrobial function against multiple burn wound related pathogenic microorganisms in vitro and in vivo demonstrate potential safety of material through in vitro cytotoxicity screening and benchmark antimicrobial function against commercially available topical treatments In the Phase II follow on effort antimicrobial formulation will be optimized dispensing mechanism will be refined and in vivo experimentation will be expanded The final product is expected to be an easy to use and easy to apply topical gel PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Burn wounds are subject to infection from wide range of bacteria fungi and viruses The most common course of treatments involve the use of topical antimicrobial agents which suffer from unwanted side effects which can extend the healing and recovery times The overall objective of this research effort is to demonstrate a new potent broad spectrum biocompatible and biodegradable antimicrobial material for treating burn wound infections