UK engineers have developed new cotton-based dressings that promise to treat diabetic wounds and burns injuries more effectively, it is announced today.
The dressings, developed by Professor Sheila MacNeil from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering with researchers from the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Biomedical Materials at COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore campus, contain an agent that helps with the formation of new blood vessels.
It is hoped the new bandages could be more affordable and accessible for patients in developing countries, where there is an urgent need for dressings to treat chronic wounds caused by diabetes and burns injuries.
One of the central parts of the research was looking at angiogenesis, which is an important stage of the normal wound healing process, but is impaired in all chronic wounds.
The team tested two new types of dressings – a non-woven cotton one and a cotton wax one – both of which were loaded with the pro-angiogenic agent 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR), which is believed to promote the formation of new blood vessels.
The researchers found that both types of dressings stimulated blood vessel formation in a fertilised chick egg model.
Prof Sheila MacNeil said: “The new dressings we are developing are demonstrating the potential to treat these wounds more effectively than the current treatment methods. The non-woven cotton fibres would be ideal for treating chronic wounds and ulcer wounds because of their good absorption capacity, while the 2dDR containing cotton wax dressing would be more appropriate for treating burn wounds because of its non-adhesive properties.
“We’re now hoping to continue our research in Pakistan and run first in man safety studies before clinical trials to bring the dressings a step closer to being available for patients and healthcare systems.”
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