{"id":56481,"date":"2019-08-01T16:13:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T23:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=56481"},"modified":"2019-10-29T16:11:54","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T23:11:54","slug":"wound-healing-patent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wound-healing-patent\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU team invents patented technology that speeds wound healing, prevents infection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aug. 1, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American population is aging, and\nconditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are on the rise. With\nthose factors in place, the medical community has growing concerns about wound\ntreatment. According to the American Professional Wound Care Association, about\n15 percent of Medicare recipients suffer chronic, nonhealing wounds with an\nannual cost of about $30 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One challenge physicians repeatedly\nface in treating wounds is the threat of bacterial infection. Closing the wound\nhelps reduce the risk, but if pathogens infect the compromised tissue, they can\nreadily form biofilms, hardy communities of cells covered by a protective\nbiopolymeric layer. This layer is difficult for conventional antibiotics to\npenetrate, and as a consequence, biofilm-mediated infections require long\ntreatment regimens. Microbial biofilms can result in chronic infection and often\ncause havoc in hospitals, where they can spread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, scientists have been\nexploring tissue engineering to treat wounds and promote better healing. One\nnew approach is to use three-dimensional skin substitutes formed from native\nskin proteins through a process called electrospinning. These electrospun\nprotein \u201cscaffolds\u201d guide cell adhesion and growth, and can be used to deliver\ncells, drugs and even genes into the body. Research is shifting from using\nsynthetic materials for scaffolds to degradable, porous materials that can\nprovide a more natural, effective and aesthetic healing environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Northern Arizona University researchers\u2014Robert Kellar<\/strong>, associate professor of practice of biology<\/a>, Nathan Nieto<\/strong>, associate professor of biology and Andy Koppisch<\/strong>, associate professor of chemistry, along with Rico Del Sesto of Dixie State University\u2014have invented a technology that speeds healing and reduces the risk of infection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scientists developed this technology, which was recently awarded a patent, by incorporating antimicrobial materials known as ionic liquids into skin wound-healing scaffolds. Incorporation of the ionic liquid sterilizes the wound-healing device and enables the resultant scaffold to resist colonization by a wide variety of microbial pathogens. The researchers envision that these properties of the scaffold will similarly reduce the risk of infection during the process of wound closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe unique chemical properties of\nionic liquids offer significant biochemical advantages as a therapeutic to\ncombat biofilm development,\u201d Koppisch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ionic liquids are formally salts, but\nunlike table salt, they are fluid at room temperature and at\na wider range of temperatures relevant to living systems. Consequently, ionic\nliquids are often described as molten organic salts.\nBecause they are temperature stable and adaptable, ionic liquids can serve a\nvariety of applications. One such application is the disruption of the\nprotective biopolymer covering microbial biofilms and neutralization of the underlying\ncells, which many ionic liquids have proven uniquely suited to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team identified choline geranate, an ionic liquid that\nnot only serves as a vehicle for tissue-generating cells and medications, but\nalso has powerful biofilm-killing properties of its own. It can attack\nestablished infections as well as prevent new ones from developing. The\nresearchers see a two-fold application for the solution\u2014it can be added to\ndressings commonly used in treating wounds and it can be incorporated into\nwound-healing scaffolds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through their work, the researchers established a\nprotocol for formation of the ionic liquid-containing scaffolds and\ndemonstrated that choline geranate can prevent the scaffolds themselves from\nbecoming contaminated, even with high concentrations of pathogens. The\nresearchers are hopeful the scaffolds will ultimately improve outcomes for\npatients with healing difficulties, such as diabetics with chronic wound-based\ninfections. The technology the team uses to create scaffolds uses native skin\nproteins that closely align to skin, facilitating the natural healing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis novel technology represents a\nco-development effort from multiple disciplines to create a game-changing\ntherapeutic in the space of combating chronically infected wounds,\u201d Kellar\nsaid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers have identified several other\npotential healing applications for the technology:<\/p>\n\n\n\n