Development and Characterisation of honey-supplemented collagen biomaterial for application in the treatment of burn and chronic wounds

慢性伤口构成了医学上最困难的挑战之一，因此在生物材料和组织工程方面正在取得进展来解决这一问题。我的研究项目围绕着用天然材料制成的生物活性伤口敷料的开发，用于治疗烧伤和糖尿病溃疡等难以愈合的伤口。胶原蛋白是体内最丰富的蛋白质，很容易在伤口处结合并被重新吸收。用蜂蜜补充胶原蛋白，这种蜂蜜具有天然的抗菌特性，可以产生一种活性和可降解的支架，用于愈合伤口。这项研究的重点是具有受控降解和细胞信号传递的薄膜和支架工程，以最大限度地提高伤口闭合率。这项工作包括基于胶原蛋白和麦卢卡蜂蜜的组合创造不同的敷料，并对其机械、化学和生物特性进行表征。一个特别的重点是研究材料的降解以及它如何影响细胞和细菌，改变属性以管理炎症和预防感染。

Chronic wounds pose some of the most difficult challenges in medicine and thus advancements in biomaterials and tissue engineering are being made to tackle this issue. My research project revolves on the development on bioactive wound dressings made of natural materials for the treatment of hard to heal wounds such as burns and diabetic ulcers. Collagen being the most abundant protein in the body readily integrates and is reabsorbed in the wound site. Supplementing the collagen with honey, which has natural antibacterial properties, results in an active and degradable scaffold for healing wounds. The research focuses on the engineering of films and scaffolds with controlled degradation and cell signalling tailored to maximising wound closure rate. The work involves the creation of different dressings based on combinations of collagen and Manuka honey and characterization of their mechanical, chemical and biological properties. A particular focus is the study of the degradation of the material and how it influences both cells and bacteria, altering the properties to manage inflammation and protect against infection.