Scientists Tout Wound Dressing Based on Silica Gel Fibers

Tag : Silica Gel

Filed under: Medicine , Plastic Surgery , Surgery
Investigators at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISCin Würzburg, Germany believe that a new material, based onsilica gel fibers, can offer therapeutic advantages for treatmentsof a variety of skin wounds, particularly for patients withdecubitus ulcers, diabetic skin breakdowns, or burns: The wounds can be treated with conventional collagen dressings orpolylactic acid dressings, but the success rate is not as good asit should be. A new type of dressing made of silica gel fibers,developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for SilicateResearch ISC in Würzburg, shall solve the problem. This noveldressing has many advantages: it is shape-stable, pH-neutral and100 percent bioresorbable. Once applied it remains in the body,where it gradually degrades without leaving any residues.What’s more, the fibre fleece provides the healthy cellsaround the edges of the wound with the structure they additionallyneed for a proper supply of growth-supporting nutrients. To preventany infection, treatment of the wound must be absolutely sterile.“As only the outer bandage needs to be changed, the risk ofcontaminating the wound is low,” explains Dr. JörnProbst of the ISC. And thanks to the supporting matrix for thecells, the chances of a scar-free natural closure of the wound arevery good.
The fibers are produced by means of wet-chemical materialsynthesis, a sol-gel process in which a transparent, honey-like gelis produced from tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), ethanol and water in amulti-stage, acidically catalyzed synthesis process. The gel isprocessed in a spinning tower: “We press it through finenozzles at constant temperatures and humidity levels,”explains Walther Glaubitt, the inventor of the silica gel fibers.“This produces fine endless threads which are collected on atraversing table and spun in a specific pattern to produce aroughly A4-sized multi-layer textile web.” The dressings arethen cut, packed and sterilized. Dr. Jörn Probst andDipl.-Ing. Walther Glaubitt will receive the Joseph von FraunhoferPrize 2008 for developing the biocompatible dressing.
A partner to support the development and market the dressing hasalready been found: Bayer Innovation GmbH BIG, a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Bayer AG. “We anticipate that hospitals willstart to use the silica gel wound dressing in 2011,” statesIwer Baecker, project manager at Bayer Innovation GmbH.