BioFiber: An advanced fibrous textured dressing to manage exudate in severe wounds

Biofiber is a new generation of highly absorbent, and textured bandage with patented fiber technology. Biofiber has a sophisticated texture that provides an optimum balance of moisture, flexibility, and conformability, and it has been developed with specific properties to treat complex injuries like burns. The dressing has been designed to be completely adaptable to human anatomy, and it can be fitted to any part of the body, adapting to all curves and jointures, as well as fitting the facial features. Prototypes of PLA-PCL-based textured bandages were developed by electrospinning, characterized, and evaluated for complex wound care. The texture is both esthetic and functional; fibers were uniformly sized (2.2 ± 0.8 and 4.5 ± 0.3 µm) and well interconnected. The texture facilitates vertical absorption of exudate up to 2.5 g/g of bandage, and the high contact angle values (120 - 100°) create an optimum balance of moisture for the healing process. The textured prototypes turned out to be extremely stable; no sign of bandage debris was found by the standard test, BS EN 13726-1.7. In addition, the round texture (3R) showed improvements in tensile strength (0.27 ± 0.019 MPa), ultimate tensile strength (0.83 ± 0.05 MPa) with higher breaking point (0.91 ± 0.05 MPa) compared to control (Mepilex Lite®). The amount of albumin (BSA) and Fibrinogen (Fb) adhered on textured fiber prototypes was calculated by BCA Assay, all prototypes demonstrated strong BSA (ranging from 81.66 ± 8.93 to 182.73 ± 2.07 μg protein/mg dressing) and enhanced Fb shielding (ranging from 108.25 ± 7.3 to 238.12 ± 17.76 μg protein/mg dressing). Their MVTR values ranged from 2313.27 ± 58.86 to 2603.33 ± 50.41 g/m²· day and vertical wicking heights were between 24.6 ± 2.5 and 29.3 ± 4.1 mm; biological tests demonstrated good compatibility of prototypes (cell vitality > 70 %), percentage of cells attachment was in-between 114 and 225 %. The extent of attachment depends on texture, differing topographical patterns presented higher attachment compared with both CTR + and 1P prototype (no texture). Cells were growth on textured fiber prototypes, and the extent of proliferation depend on incubation time.

In Vivo Evaluation of Novel PLA/PCL Polymeric Patch in Rats for Potential Spina Bifida Coverage

BACKGROUND

Current therapeutic materials for spina bifida repair showed a limited number of options in the market, and none of them have all the requirements as the ideal patch. In fact, sometimes the surgical procedures pose substantial challenges using different patches to fully cover the spina bifida lesion. For this purpose, a tailored patch made of poly (L-lactic acid) and poly (ε-caprolactone) blend was designed and validated in vitro to accomplish all these requirements but was never tested in vivo.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In our present study, the designed patch was analyzed in terms of rejection from the animal when implanted subcutaneously and as a dural substitute in the spinal cord. Inflammatory reaction (Iba1), astrogliosis (GFAP), was analyzed and functional interaction with spinal cord tissue assessing the (%motor-evoked potentials /compound motor action potential) by electrophysiology.

RESULTS

No evidence of adverse or inflammatory reactions was observed in both models of subcutaneous implantation, neither in the neural tissue as a dural substitute. No signs of astrogliosis in the neural tissue were observed, and no functional alteration with improvement of the motor-evoked potential's amplitude was detected after 4 wk of implantation as a dural substitute in the rat spinal cord.

CONCLUSIONS

Designed patch used as a dural substitute will apparently not produce inflammation, scar formation, or tethering cord and not induce any adverse effect on regular functions of the spinal cord. Further studies are needed to evaluate potential improvements of this novel polymeric patch in the spinal cord regeneration using spina bifida models.

Novel Biocompatible and Biodegradable PCL-PLA/ Iron Oxide NPs Marker Clip Composite for Breast Cancer Biopsy

Strength and biocompatibility of composite materials (using a polymer matrix) are used in medicine for various devices such as prostheses and marker clips (biomarkers). Marker clips indicate the site of a lesion in the body, specifically for breast cancer diagnosis or treatment. In general, marker clips are made of steel or titanium, but lately, materials containing biodegradable polymers had been proposed. Our hypothesis is that a copolymer of polylactic acid and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PLA-PCL) could be used as marker clip material. After evaluating different polymer rates performance, metallic nanoparticles (NPs) were included to enhance the stability of the best copolymer and a marker clip prototype was proposed. Characterization of nanoparticles was made by dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetic measurements. Mechanical, thermal and radiopacity properties were evaluated for composites formulation. In vitro, radiopaque experiments showed that BM-2 composite had the best performance. In vivo experiments showed that, after five months, the marker clip prototype maintained its shape, visibility and contrast properties. In consequence, a novel formulation of composite (PLA-PCL/metallic nanoparticles) is suitable for further studies as an alternative material for marker clips for breast cancer lesions.