ENZYME-BASED ANTISEPTIC WOUND DRESSING

TOPICAL ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS ARE WIDELY USED ON BURN WOUNDS IN AN OFTEN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO PREVENT/TREAT INFECTION.APPLICATION OF THESE ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS REQUIRES THE REMOVAL OF THE SYNTHETIC DRESSING. THIS IS FREQUENTLY PAINFUL, NECESSITATING NARCOTIC ANALGESIA OR GENERAL ANESTHESIA. THERE IS A NEED, THEREFORE, FOR WOUND DRESSING THAT MINIMIZES OR SUBSTANTIALLY PREVENTS WOUND-ASSOCIATED INFECTION AT THE DRESSING-TISSUE INTERFACE WITHOUT REMOVAL OF THE DRESSING. DEVELOPMENT OF A ENZYME-BASED ANTISEPTIC WOUND(EBAW) DRESSING IS PROPOSED. THE EBAW DRESSING WOULD BE A SUBSTANTIALLY NONTOXIC, POROUS POLYURETHANE-POLYMER SUPPORT MATRIX TO WHICH THE ENZYME GLUCOSE OXIDASE IS IMMOBILIZED. DIFFUSION OF GLUCOSE PRESENT IN TISSUE ADJACENT TO THE ACTIVE SITE OF THE ENZYME WOULD GENERATE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE THT WOULD DIFFUSE INTO THE WOUND-TISSUE INTERFACE. WHEN THEWOUND HAS HEALED TO THE POINT OF PREVENTING THE DIFFUSION OFGLUCOSE FROM THE BODILY ENVIRONMENT, THEN THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE WOULD CEASE. THUS, THE EBAW DRESSING WOULD PROVIDE A CONTINUOUS SELF-REGULATING ANTISEPTIC EFFECT THE AIM OF THIS PHASE I PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN EBAW DRESSING WITH GOOD MECHANICAL AND OXYGEN-DELIVERY PROPERTIESTHAT EXHIBITS LONGTERM GLUCOSE-DEPENDENT ANTISEPSIS. IN VITRO AND IN VIVO ANIMAL STUDIES ARE PLANNED TO VERIFY THE PROTOTYPE EBAW DRESSINGS PRODUCED. CLINICAL EVALUATION IS PLANNED FOR PHASE II.