Scientist develops advanced dressing material for treating diabetic wounds

New Delhi, August 7

An Indian scientist has developed an advanced dressing based on agarose, a natural polymer derived from seaweed agar, for treatment of infected diabetic wounds and patients suffering from chronic wounds, the Department of Science and Technology said on Friday.

This indigenous dressing will allow cost-effective dressings for chronic wound patients and will also pave the way for business incubation.

The biodegradable and non-immunogenic wound dressing has been developed from sustainable source intervention by Vivek Verma from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur by adding several additive molecules like iodine and citric acid, it said.

It was supported by the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies programme of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), and is aligned with the ‘Make in India’ initiative. It has bagged a National patent and has been validated and tested in-vitro and in-vivo on rat model, it said.

The role of addition of several active molecules like sericin, iodine, and citric acid to this novel wound dressing has been evaluated along with agar in terms of their healing and containment property with regards to chronic wounds, it said.

The invention in particular provides agar dressing films for the treatment of infected diabetic wounds. The dressing may be used as a single layer, bilayer, or multi-layered hydrogel films depending on the severity and type of wound, the DST said.

Agar is a gelatinous substance that is extracted from seaweed and processed into flakes, powders and sheets.

The developed intervention is in third stage of the Technology Readiness Level. At present, the dressing has been tested on rat model with a small-sized circular wound of diameter 5 mm with single layer dressing incorporated with only one active ingredient.

The next step would be to test its efficacy in the treatment of large wounds in big animals like rabbits or pigs.

Verma is working towards incorporation of all the active agents in single or multilayer arrangement and optimising various parameters related to it. The final stage will include clinical trials, the statement said.

Following these steps, the technology can be commercialised in the market as single or all ingredient loaded uni/multilayer dressing material, it said.

According to Verma, the advanced wound dressing has potential to be converted into a commercial product for advanced wound care, and it can provide an active bandage for treatment and management of chronic wounds at competitive cost.

The advanced wound dressing market in India is largely monopolised by foreign companies. This indigenous dressing will not only allow cost-effective dressings for chronic wound patients but also will pave the way for business incubation, it added. PTI

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