| Aug 03, 2013 |
Faster treatment of burn wounds with nanofiber coatings
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(Nanowerk News) Taking into consideration the biological and high antimicrobial properties of chitosan and the characteristics of nanofibers, including porosity and 3-dimensional structure, researchers developed antibacterial nanofibrous coatings to accelerate healing of third-degree burn wounds ("Effect of tissue-engineered chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibrous scaffolds on healing of burn wounds of rat skin").
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When the nanofibrous coatings are applied on the cuts and deep burns, biochemical signals are formed in order to speed up the treatment, and the wounds are treated faster.
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Due to their hydrophilic properties and high porosity, the coatings are able to take out infection and blood from the wound surface. On the other hand, they provide the required humidity for the faster treatment in the wound surface. The specific properties caused by the nanometric dimension of the coatings enable the scaffold to form a structure similar to that of the matrix of the skin tissue. Therefore, the nanofibrous coating is able to adsorb fibroblast, and consequently, the collagen regeneration and treatment occur at faster speed.
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The main characteristic of this research is the combination of the perfect biological properties of chitosan with unique characteristics of nanofibers, and the obtaining of a biocompatible scaffold, which can be used in the treatment of wounds caused by cutting or burns in forms of cell-free scaffold or scaffold with stem cell.
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The coating itself has antibacterial properties and contrary to other bandages, it does not need any lotion or antibiotics. It also does not cause immunological or allergic responds due to the presence of nanomteric fibers made of biocompatible polymer. On the contrary, it suggests to the body that a tissue similar to the original tissue has been placed in the wound, and therefore, it speeds up the creation of the biochemical signals necessary for the treatment of the wounds.
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