Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,University of Colorado-Denver, and University of California Davis, report that integrating polymer nanofilms containing precise amounts of silver nanoparticles designed to release during a 10-day stretch may hold promise for the treatment of chronic wounds and burns. A news release reports that researchers used a “stamping” method to apply the nanofilms to the soft bottom layer of commercially available artificial skin.

In a paper recently published in the journal Annals of Surgery, researchers applied the nanofilms to artificial skin in mice with full-thickness skin wounds or those in which all layers of skin were removed. Michael Schurr, MD, corresponding author, explains that the dressings are designed to eradicate bacteria within the wounds, “A lot of wound dressings are very specialized. One of the advantages of nanofilms is that they don’t change the properties of the dressings,” Schurr says. The release also notes that while the nanofilms do not modify the dressings, they do play a role in eliminating bacteria.

Researchers say they added bacteria to the wounds, applying the artificial skin with and without the silver nanofilms. The results indicate that 3 days following the application, wounds dressed with artificial skin exhibited persistent infections, compared to wound with silver-modified artificial skin contained significantly less bacteria.

Source:  University of Wisconsin-Madison