Antimicrobial Dressings for Burn Wound Infection Control

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 100,000 - 300,000 hospitalizations occur annually in the United States as a result of an estimated two million people who suffer burn injuries. More than 12,000 of these two million will eventually die of burn-related infections. In fact, infections are the largest cause of death in burn patients. Burn wound infections can be traced to several sources including: the patient's own skin and gastrointestinal tract, the burn care facility, other patients, and from the patient's caregivers. This SBIR Phase I project concerns the preparation of an antimicrobial fabric to be used as a burn wound dressing for infection control. An antimicrobial group will be covalently linked to the fabric material. This technology will replace the currently employed topical antimicrobial agents. Current topical agents have been shown to have undesirable side effects and their effectiveness for infection control continues to decline due to the emergence of resistant microorganisms. The goal of this Phase I project is to prepare an antimicrobial fabric that is effective against a broad spectrum of the common burn wound pathogens and is not cytotoxic to human skin cells and therefore will not inhibit the healing process.