ANTIMICROBIAL WOUND DRESSINGS FOR FULL-THICKNESS INFECTED BURN WOUNDS

ABSTRACT Infection of wounds delays healing, increases treatment costs, and leads to major complications. Current methods to manage such infections include antibiotic ointments and antimicrobial wound dressings, both of which have significant drawbacks, including frequent reapplication and contribution to antimicrobial resistance. In this work, we developed wound dressings fabricated with a medical-grade polyurethane coating composed of natural plant secondary metabolites, cinnamaldehyde, and alpha-terpineol. Our wound dressings are easy to change and do not adhere to the wound bed. They kill gram-positive and -negative microbes in infected wounds due to the Food and Drug Administration–approved for human consumption components. The wound dressings were fabricated by dip coating. Antimicrobial efficacy was determined by quantifying the bacteria colonies after a 24 h of immersion. Wound healing and bacterial reduction were assessed in an in vivo full-thickness porcine burn model. Our antimicrobial wound dressings showed a > 5-log reduction (99.999%) of different gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, while maintaining absorbency. In the in vivo porcine burn model, our wound dressings were superior to bacitracin in decreasing bacterial burden during daily changes, without interfering with wound healing. Additionally, the dressings had a significantly lower adhesion to the wound bed. Our antimicrobial wound dressings reduced the burden of clinically relevant bacteria more than commercial antimicrobial wound dressings. In an in vivo infected burn wound model, our coatings performed as well or better than bacitracin. We anticipate that our wound dressings would be useful for the treatment of various types of acute and chronic wounds.