Probiotic-Free Microfiber Membrane for Promoting Infected Wound Healing by Regulating Wound Flora Balance

Abstract

Anti-infection properties are critical for promoting wound healing. Probiotic therapy displays great advantages to combat infection by regulating the wound flora balance, compared with biocidal-based wound dressing. However, probiotic therapy has large obstacle and potential biosafety risks for proper application. Herein, a probiotic-free wound dressing for accelerating wound healing is reported to regulate wound flora balance without inoculating microorganisms at the wound. A poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) microfiber membrane exhibits strong bacterial adhesion (1.74 × 109 CFU/cm2), and bacterial adhesion count correlates with the surface energy and fiber diameter of PMP microfiber membranes. The efficient bacterial adhesion of the PMP microfiber membrane endows the ability to regulate wound flora for accelerating the healing. Pathogenic bacteria could be removed from the infectious wound through dressing change, so the concentration of pathogenic bacteria at the wound could be kept at a low level, which is beneficial to wound healing. Based on the rat model, wounds have the lowest bacterial concentration and a fast healing rate after treatment with a PMP microfiber membrane, compared with the group treated with commercial dressings. These results reveal that the PMP microfiber membrane could be used to accelerate infectious wound healing by regulating wound flora balance. The work provides a new idea for developing novel antibacterial dressings without any side effects.