Thiolated Carboxymethyl-Hyaluronic-Acid-Based Biomaterials Enhance Wound Healing in Rats, Dogs, and Horses

The progression of wound healing is a complicated but well-known process involving many factors, yet there are few products on the market that enhance and accelerate wound healing. This is particularly problematic in veterinary medicine where multiple species must be treated and large animals heal slower, oftentimes with complicating factors such as the development of exuberant granulation tissue. In this study a crosslinked-hyaluronic-acid (HA-) based biomaterial was used to treat wounds on multiple species: rats, dogs, and horses. The base molecule, thiolated carboxymethyl HA, was first found to increase keratinocyte proliferation in vitro. Crosslinked gels and films were then both found to enhance the rate of wound healing in rats and resulted in thicker epidermis than untreated controls. Crosslinked films were used to treat wounds on forelimbs of dogs and horses. Although wounds healed slower compared to rats, the films again enhanced wound healing compared to untreated controls, both in terms of wound closure and quality of tissue. This study indicates that these crosslinked HA-based biomaterials enhance wound healing across multiple species and therefore may prove particularly useful in veterinary medicine. Reduced wound closure times and better quality of healed tissue would decrease risk of infection and pain associated with open wounds.