WOUND HEALING BY CONTINUOUS LACTATE DELIVERY

The objective of this application is to develop a system which will provide continuous release of lactate to wounds. These studies will determine if continuous application of lactate, which has been shown to stimulate collagen production by fibroblasts and to stimulate angiogenesis factor production in macrophages, will stimulate accelerated wound healing in vivo. Polylactide microspheres will be made which will release lactate at various rates. The microspheres will be tested in an incisional wound healing model in rats to determine their ability to enhance wound breading strengths. If these polylactide microspheres are effective they would provide an easy, safe, and relatively inexpensive way to treat acute and chronic wounds which would otherwise result in serious complications to the patient. The long term goal would be to develop a product which could be tailored to work in a wide range of wound healing and angiogenic applications.