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

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种拟议的气凝胶伤口敷料，可能有助于治愈慢性伤口患者。慢性伤口患者的总治疗费用可能会降低，因为他们可能愈合得更快，而且可能需要更少的敷料更换，从而消除了多次敷料的使用。由于所提出的技术是可生物降解的，因此该技术也有可能使伤口愈合过程更具可持续性。I-Corps项目是基于一种新型生物基伤口敷料气凝胶的开发，它可以帮助解决当前慢性伤口愈合的问题。气凝胶具有高孔隙率、高表面积、丰富的中孔和毛细管作用的独特组合，导致伤口界面具有高吸光性、气体交换和水分平衡等特性，这可能创造一个类似孵化器的环境，可能减少生物膜的形成，并保护伤口免受病原体的侵害。作为生物基，所提出的技术可能具有更高的生物相容性和生物可降解性，以及可能为伤口部位提供可能改善愈合过程的必要蛋白质。生物基气凝胶材料的吸光度可达其重量的50倍，而流行的商业慢性伤口敷料的吸光度为其重量的7-8倍。这些材料的物理化学性质可能对伤口愈合环境有用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.