Multifunctional Dressings for Improved Wound Healing

In the present political climate, there is a significantly increased risk of vesicant agent attacks against the US armed forces and the civilian population. At present vesicant injury treatment involves wound debridement, followed by skin grafting or the application of wound dressings, which are limited in the benefits that they offer, and need to be changed out frequently, thus adding to the suffering of the casualties, and logistical and cost hurdles on the armed forces. In this Phase I SBIR effort, Lynntech proposes to develop a multifunctional wound dressing which incorporates several beneficial features such as wound exudates removal, delivery of growth factor and antimicrobial agent, and a transparent design, to shorten wound healing time, decrease scarring, lengthen application time and allow easy visual determination of wound healing progress. This will significantly lower the logistical and cost burden on the medical personnel and armed forces in general, and shorten the suffering of the casualties, thereby acting as a deterrent against the use of vesicants by the enemy. During Phase II we will further optimize the design and perform limited animal testing to show the suitability of our multifunctional wound dressings for use in the treatment of vesicant and burn injuries.