In cases with older people and people with diabetes, wound healing can be problematic. In these cases, wound healing proceeds very slowly and sometimes does not even completely proceed at all. It can sometimes be painful, which will limit the patient's movement. In worse cases, it may even cause infection.
A project called "Scaravoid" was launched by Swiss researchers to address the problem on wound healing. Scientists at EMPA, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have developed a healing foam that promotes rapid healing of an open wound with no to minimal scarring.
Lead author of the research Markus Rottmar explained how traditional treatments produce inadequate tissue responses. This is because they only target single factors like oxygen supply or moisture regulation. Now, the foam that the researchers have formulated with poly-4-hydroxybutyrate, or P4HB, starts the healing process by first building a scaffold where the body's responsive repair system would be able to deposit cells that would help clean the wound. After this, the cells would promote the growth of new healthy tissue. The fibrous polymer used in the project naturally acts as a storage for energy. It is then broken down when the body requires energy. The polymer's fibrous built means that it is strong and elastic. P4HB is also an ideal material for the application because aside from its physical structure, it can be broken down in the human body.
The team carried out their research by first allowing P4HB to expand in a reactor at high pressure. The expansion of the polymer was facilitated by supercritical carbon dioxide. The gas pressure and temperature were varied during the experiment to identify the pore size of the product. Curcumin, from the root turmeric, is added to the polymer. This anti-inflammatory compound dictates the behavior and function of the cells that are deposited at the scaffold.
The research team plans to proceed with clinical trials in the future. They would be using large membranes that can then be cut by doctors according to the required size so that it can be packed in wounds. However, for now, they will first study the behavior and properties of the foam in the form of small discs.
