Development of a bioelectronic wound dressing to aid chronic ulcer wound repair

由于人口增长和老龄化，慢性伤口的发生率正在增加。更易患慢性溃疡的患者包括老年人和糖尿病患者。仅在2014年，用于伤口护理的费用就超过了20亿GB。慢性创面需要先进的创面护理产品，因为在没有干预的情况下，大约50%的创面无法愈合。已有文献证明，皮肤中的电制度在关闭全层创面时，局部离子电流在引导表皮细胞迁移方面发挥了作用。最近有报道称，外部施加电刺激可以影响细胞活动，既促进细胞增殖，又增加分化和细胞外基质的产生。该项目将研究一种纤维导电聚合物伤口敷料的开发，该敷料具有电容电场，具有帮助慢性溃疡愈合的潜力。

The incidence of chronic wounds are increasing due to a growing and ageing population. Patients who are more susceptible to chronic ulcers include the elderly and diabetics. Over £2billion was spent on wound care in 2014 alone. Advanced wound care products are needed on chronic wounds as without intervention approximately 50% of these wounds do not heal.The role of electrical regimes in skin has been documented, with local ionic currents playing a part in directing epidermal cell migration when closing full thickness wounds.It has been recently documented that externally applied electrical stimulus can influence cell activity, both increasing cell proliferation and increasing differentiation and extracellular matrix production. This project will investigate the development of a fibrous conductive polymer wound dressing with a capacitive applied electrical field, that has the potential to aid the healing of chronic ulcers.