Wound dressings are traditionally used to protect a wound and to facilitate healing. Currently, their function is expanding. There is an urgent need for new smart products that not only act as a protective barrier but also actively support the wound healing process. Hydrogel dressings are an example of such innovative products and typically facilitate wound healing by providing a hospitable and moist environment in which cells can thrive, while the wound can still breathe and exudate can be drained. These dressings also tend to be less painful or have a soothing effect and allow for additional drug delivery. In this review, various strategic and molecular design considerations are discussed that are relevant for developing a hydrogel into a wound dressing product. These considerations vary from material choice to ease of use and determine the dressing's final properties, application potential, and benefits for the patient. The focus of this review lies on identifying and explaining key aspects of hydrogel wound dressings and their relevance in the different phases of wound repair. Molecular targets of wound healing are discussed that are relevant when tailoring hydrogels toward specific wound healing scenarios. In addition, the potential of hydrogels is reviewed as medicine advances from a repair-based wound healing approach toward a regenerative-based one. Hydrogels can play a key role in the transition toward personal wound care and facilitating regenerative medicine strategies by acting as a scaffold for (stem) cells and carrier/source of bioactive molecules and/or drugs. Impact statement Improved wound healing will lead to a better quality of life around the globe. It can be expected that this coincides with a reduction in health care spending, as the duration of treatment decreases. To achieve this, new and modern wound care products are desired that both facilitate healing and improve comfort and outcome for the patient. It is proposed that hydrogel wound dressings can play a pivotal role in improving wound care, and to that end, this review aims to summarize the various design considerations that can be made to optimize hydrogels for the purpose of a wound dressing.

Design Considerations for Hydrogel Wound Dressings: Strategic and Molecular Advances

The early detection of wound infection in situ can dramatically improve patient care pathways and clinical outcomes. There is increasing evidence that within an infected wound the main bacterial mode of living is a biofilm: a confluent community of adherent bacteria encased in an extracellular polymeric matrix. Here we have reported the development of a prototype wound dressing, which switches on a fluorescent color when in contact with pathogenic wound biofilms. The dressing is made of a hydrated agarose film in which the fluorescent dye containing vesicles were mixed with agarose and dispersed within the hydrogel matrix. The static and dynamic models of wound biofilms, from clinical strains of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis, were established on nanoporous polycarbonate membrane for 24, 48, and 72 h, and the dressing response to the biofilms on the prototype dressing evaluated. The dressing indicated a clear fluorescent/color response within 4 h, only observed when in contact with biofilms produced by a pathogenic strain. The sensitivity of the dressing to biofilms was dependent on the species and strain types of the bacterial pathogens involved, but a relatively higher response was observed in strains considered good biofilm formers. There was a clear difference in the levels of dressing response, when dressings were tested on bacteria grown in biofilm or in planktonic cultures, suggesting that the level of expression of virulence factors is different depending of the growth mode. Colorimetric detection on wound biofilms of prevalent pathogens (S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and E. faecalis) is also demonstrated using an ex vivo porcine skin model of burn wound infection.

/pdf/prototype-development-of-the-intelligent-hydrogel-wound-2tifk2fox5.pdf

Prototype Development of the Intelligent Hydrogel Wound Dressing and Its Efficacy in the Detection of Model Pathogenic Wound Biofilms

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the general principles behind the microwave sensing and demonstrates the potential of cavity microwave resonator device in real-time monitoring for: environmental monitoring with the focus on wastewater pollution, a system for oil/gas/water content evaluation in a dynamic pipeline, a system for real-time determination of bacteria concentration and a method for non-invasive glucose determination. Design/methodology/approach – Microwave sensing is a rapidly developing technology which has been successfully used for various industrial applications including water level measurements, material moisture content, in construction industry for non-invasive evaluation of structures and even in the healthcare industry for non-invasive real-time monitoring of glucose in diabetic patients. Novel microwave cavities designed and tested for specific applications are presented. Findings – The paper provides experimental results of testing the novel microwave sensing systems in a range ...

Microwave sensors for the non-invasive monitoring of industrial and medical applications

A real-time, sensitive, and selective detection device to monitor the healing status of chronic wounds at the point of care is urgently required to render the management of this disease more effective. The photonic properties of porous silicon resonant microcavity (pSiRM) afford an excellent opportunity to be developed as a highly sensitive optical biosensor to monitor the presence of specific biomarkers found in the wound exudate, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In this study, the pSiRM is designed, fabricated, and functionalized using a fluorogenic MMP peptide substrate featuring both a fluorophore and a quencher. The peptide-functionalized pSiRM is then employed as a fluorescence-based optical biosensor for MMPs. Active MMPs recognize and cleave the peptide sequence of the substrate, producing an immobilized peptide fragment carrying the fluorophore. The fluorescence intensity of the fluorophore embedded within the pSiRM matrix is enhanced by the photonic structure of the pSiRM compared to other pSi photonic structures. This fluorescence enhancement translates into high sensitivity, enabling detection of MMP-1 at a limit of detection as low as 7.5 × 10−19 m after only 15 min incubation time. Finally, the biosensor also allows the detection and quantification of the concentration of MMPs in human wound fluid.

Porous Silicon Resonant Microcavity Biosensor for Matrix Metalloproteinase Detection

Detection of pathogens in food and water is important for quality monitoring and disease prevention. Herein, we report a simple and novel colorimetric sensor for detection of bacterial growth relying on estimation of its metabolic products. As a proof of the concept, utility of the sensor for detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) is demonstrated. All major groups of microorganisms including E. coli commonly use the glycolytic pathway for glucose degradation in the presence or absence of oxygen, eventually releasing mixed acids like succinate, acetate, malate, etc. as by-products. Polyaniline, a conducting polymer, is highly sensitive to the presence of protons in its microenvironment and its protonic doping results in a visible color change. Hence, polyaniline nanoparticles were synthesized and the sensor films were fabricated by incorporating these nanoparticles in agarose gel. The films when used for real time monitoring of bacterial growth exhibited a visible color change from blue to green. Since no specific antibodies or receptors are used, the sensor is generic in nature and has potential for adaptation to real life applications in the form of patch sensor on cartons to gauge integrity and freshness of food items and beverages in real time.

Polyaniline nanoparticle based colorimetric sensor for monitoring bacterial growth

Visible, colorimetric dissemination between pathogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using fluorescent dye containing lipid vesicles.

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Visible, colorimetric dissemination between pathogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using fluorescent dye containing lipid vesicles.