Fresh hope for chronic wounds

More than 6.5 million Americans are affected by chronic wounds annually, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

It's a challenging problem. An open wound that won't heal can result in tissue deterioration, problematic infection and serious health concerns. It can be costly, too - to the tune of billions of dollars nationwide.

New hope is on the horizon, though, thanks in part to technology developed at the University of Delaware.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two new wound management products that include patented hydrogels invented by UD material scientist Darrin Pochan and Joel Schneider, a former UD faculty member now at the National Cancer Institute. The unique hydrogel materials are made of peptides - the building blocks of proteins - that self-assemble to form a 3D matrix and are compatible with living cells. The consistency of jelly, the unique materials are useful for a variety of applications.

Gel4Med, a Harvard University-based biomaterials engineering company, licensed four patents related to the technology via UD's Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships (OEIP) in 2018. The company incorporated the UD-developed hydrogels into two products, G4Derm and G4Derm Plus, that have been intentionally designed to speed healing by combatting bacterial and fungal infection while simultaneously promoting tissue regrowth.

Gel4Med is currently piloting the products in health care settings in the United States.

A new approach for wound care

According to Gel4Med CEO Manav Mehta, the needs in the clinic are vast and advances in biomaterials are needed.

Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem. Wound closure also is a major issue. Traditionally, pharmaceutical companies and wound care companies approach these problems independently.

"But a wound is a two-sided problem," Mehta said. "You have an infection problem, which is managing the bioburden, but also a wound-closure problem."

Current antimicrobials on the market are generally designed to sterilize everything they encounter. Placed on an open wound, this means that while killing bacteria, an antimicrobial also may exert a toxic effect on healthy cells that are participating in wound closure.

This is where G4Derm and G4Derm Plus are different - and where UD's technology shines.

The UD-patented biomaterials included in the products are inherently antimicrobial and flow in such a way that allows the product to reach wounds with crevasses and uneven topography, often missed by traditional sheet form products. The product has the ability to remain in place over long time-periods, too, before gradually being absorbed by the body, creating a natural scaffold on which tissue can regenerate and grow.

"Having that type of localized activity that doesn't dissipate into the bloodstream or body is incredibly powerful," Mehta said. "I do not think anyone, even now, really is able to do that approach. We kind of own that space for now."

Another feature that set the UD-developed biomaterials apart is that the hydrogel extrudes as a liquid and immediately regains its 3D structure at the molecular level after application.

"Being able to apply a liquid and have it immediately recover to its gel matrix form - that's a big deal for wound healing, to be able to apply it to hard-to-access spaces and to start the healing process right away," Mehta said. According to Mehta, other options in the market don't offer this phase shifting and shear thinning property.