Topical Nitric Oxide for the Treatment of Acute Military Wound Infections

Under battlefield conditions, warfighters face a wide range of cutaneous injuries, many of which are susceptible to life- and limb-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria. Nitric oxide is a powerful, broad spectrum antimicrobial agent that is naturally produced by the immune system. Nitric oxide"s ability to attack multiple cellular targets limits the chance for bacteria to develop resistance to it. The use of nitric oxide to treat infections has been hindered by the challenges associated with chemically storing the gas into a solid state and controlling its release. Novan"s nitric oxide-releasing silica technology, Nitricil, overcomes the past issues with nitric oxide-based therapeutics because it effectively stores large quantities of nitric oxide gas and allows the release to be"tuned"for use in acute trauma scenarios or longer term wound care applications. The technical innovation and flexibility of Nitricil clearly separates it from all other nitric oxide storage scaffolds. The goal of this Phase II research is to create the optimal topical nitric oxide releasing formulation to reduce burn wound infections and ultimately lead to a series of topical wound care products for the treatment of acute military infections.