A new, bioactive, antibacterial-eluting, composite graft for infection-free wound healing.

Abstract

The current work focuses on the in vivo performance of a newly developed injectable composite graft in infected full-thickness wounds. The composite graft was composed of bioactive porous Poly dl-lactide-co-glycolide scaffolds, antibiotic gentamicin, and crosslinked gelatin as carrier gel. Treated infected wounds exhibited a faster wound closure, rapid weight gain, lower neutrophil count, higher breaking strength, and 100 times lesser microbial count (10(2) colony forming units/g in infected treated vs. 10(4) colony forming units/g in infected control group) in comparison with infected control group 28 days post treatment. During healing, collagen production was more in the treated groups at day 7 than controls and thereafter gradually reduced to normal levels. Histology revealed a mature scar tissue formation, fibroblast proliferation, epidermal resurfacing, and collagen deposition in reticular alignment similar to normal healthy skin in treated wounds. Further, the plasma concentration of gentamicin was 35-45 μg/mL during the initial 12 hours and reduced to 1 μg/mL in 24 hours, which indicated safe levels of the antibiotic drug during healing. These results clearly indicate a faster, infection-free, and safe after treatment with the developed graft.