Advancing Military Healthcare: Novel Zwitterionic Hydrogels for Enhanced Wound Healing in Combat-Related Burn Injuries

The goal of this program is to advance the development of novel zwitterionic hydrogel-therapeutic combination products that reduce the risk of infection and improve healing for burn wounds. Burn wounds are some of the most common injuries that occur in the field, often resulting from explosive mechanisms, where burns are estimated to account for 5 to 20% of all wounds that occur during conventional conflict. Burns that occur in the field are highly susceptible to infection, where infection is the primary cause of death associated with burns. Additionally, burns are associated with high levels of inflammation that result in long recovery timelines and often prolonged hospitalization. There is an unmet need for advanced wound dressings that can improve burn wound outcomes for Air Force personnel by reducing the risk of infection and reducing recovery time. GelSana has developed zwitterionic hydrogels that repel bacterial adhesion, reduce inflammation in the wound, prevent the foreign body response, and enable sustained release of therapeutics. In this project, zwitterionic hydrogels will be loaded with polyhexamethylene biguanide (an anti-infective) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (a biologic with significant potential for improving burn wound healing) to reduce infections and recovery timelines. This work will include development and characterization of the materials and feasibility studies in gold standard animal models. Success with these goals would deliver advanced wound healing materials to improve burn outcomes for Airmen.