Antimicrobial Peptide-Selenium Nanoparticle Dressings to Enhance Burn Wound Healing and Prevent Antimicrobial-Resistant Infections
Abstract
Complex combat-related burns carry significant risks of contamination and infection. This risk and difficulty in treating infections is increasing globally due to the ongoing development of drug-resistant bacteria and fungi. Such infections can hinder wound healing, require patients to undergo greater numbers of surgical procedures, and extend the duration of drug treatment and hospital stays required. Infection is one of the leading causes of death in burns patients, so prevention and treatment of wound infections are crucial to treatment of major burn injuries. This proposal aims to develop new types of dressings for burns that contain the essential dietary element selenium to prevent drug-resistant infections and hinder possible development of new resistant microbial strains. It builds upon the investigators recent discoveries and expertise in nanomaterials design, synthesis, and applications. This would provide an alternative to conventional antibiotics and current wound dressings containing silver. This would help to treat infections with current and developing drug-resistant bacteria and fungi, as well as guarding against the development of resistance to silver, which is appearing in some patients. Using selenium-based materials will help to minimize any potential risks from the dressings as selenium is naturally occurring in the human body and can be metabolized by our cells. This research will progress the development of superior wound dressings that will help to prevent and treat infections in burns, particularly for military patients suffering complex combat-related burns, thus addressing the FY21 Military Burn Research Program Idea Development Award Focus Area. The proposed work will develop next-generation antimicrobial wound dressings for burns patients with particular relevance to military patients with multiple traumatic injuries who are at increased risk of infection. The dressings will reduce the risk of drug-resistant infections and provide alternative treatments for patients with such infections. The dressings would be used in wound care in emergency settings and for inpatients at full-service hospitals and may also find future applications in outpatient treatments for burns and chronic wounds. In addition to benefiting burn-injured Service Members, the dressings would also be valuable for civilian patients with burns or other infected wounds. This proposed research will lead to a greater understanding of how to design materials to prevent infections and avoid development of future resistance in bacteria and fungi. This is expected to ultimately result in significant benefits in a wide range of clinical applications in addition to treating burn wounds, such as in coatings for orthopedic implants or other medical devices where infections may occur. The proposed research is planned to take three years and include systematic laboratory characterization and optimization of the materials, including testing in small animals. Successful results in this research would be followed by the further animal testing required to achieve regulatory approval for use in humans. It is anticipated that first-in-human clinical studies would be conducted in approximately five years from the commencement of this project.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210642
Entities
People
- Andrea O Connor
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Melbourne