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Development of a biodegradable foam for use in negative pressure wound therapy
Author(s) -
Liu Jie,
Morykwas Michael J.,
Argenta Louis C.,
Wagner William D.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.31854
Subject(s) - negative pressure wound therapy , materials science , medicine , pathology , alternative medicine
Treatment of wounds using negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) uses a nondegradable polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) foam in the application of negative pressures typically for 1–3 days. The purpose of this study was to construct and test biodegradable poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) foam as a substitute for the PVA foam. Such a foam would be left within the wound until healing was achieved and form a biodegradable matrix into which tissue would grow. The use of such foam would obviate the need for any serial foam changes and a final foam removal, thus making patient care much easier and more economical. PCL foams were prepared by salt leaching and phase separation. Morphological and mechanical properties of the foams were characterized and compared to PVA foam. PCL and PVA foams were tested on the uncut surface of a pig liver maintained in a hydration chamber continuously replenished with saline under the conditions of negative pressure of 50 mm Hg for 72 h. The results demonstrated that PCL foam made from phase separation had the similar properties and function as the PVA foam. The results demonstrate that PCL foam is an appropriate substitute for currently used nondegradable PVA foam in NPWT applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2011.