I-Corps: Tunable Porosity Aerogel for Wound-Care Dressing

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a proposed aerogel wound dressing that may help heal patients with chronic wounds. The total treatment cost for patients with chronic wounds could be reduced as they may heal faster but also possibly require fewer dressing changes eliminating the use of multiple dressings. Since the proposed technology is biodegradable, it is also possible that the technology makes the wound healing process more sustainable.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a class of novel bio-based aerogels for wound dressings, which could help address the current issues in chronic wound-healing today. Aerogels possess a unique combination of high porosity, high surface area, an abundance of mesopores, and capillary action that result in properties like high absorbance, gas exchange, and moisture balance at the wound interface which may create an incubator-like environment that possibly reduces the formation of biofilm and protects the wound from pathogens. Being bio-based the proposed technology may possess increased biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well as possibly providing the wound site with necessary proteins that may improve the healing process. Bio-based aerogel materials have absorbance capacities up to 50 times their weight compared with 7-8 times for popular commercial chronic wound dressings. The physicochemical properties of these materials may be useful for the wound healing environment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.