Skin Substitutes and Wound Dressing

Artificial skin substitutes and wound dressings made of biodegradable polymeric materials have been developed to treat bums. So far, most of the commercially available artificial skins have been composed of biodegradable polymers, such as collagen and chitin, which are enzymatically degradable polymers [53, 54]. 

A new technology, natural bioactive dressing used as skin substitute has proved useful in wound management. This substitute is about one of the few that can produce fully functional skin. For boils and most skin infections, the most effective treatment appears to be direct... 

Biosynthetic Temporary Skin Substitute. A biosynthetic skin substitute is a useful treatment for partialthickness wounds, including skin tears, bums, and abrasions. After applying a gel to the surfece of the wound, a semipermeable membrane of biosynthetic skin is used to cover the wound for protection from infection. Before the development of biosynthetic skin grafts, a physician had to choose between an allograft, which uses cadaver skin, and a xenograft, which uses tissue from another species. Biosynthetic dressings have also been developed. The dressing called Hydrofiber contains ionic silver and has been shown to prevent the spread of bacteria. 

Skin substitutes currently available vary in complexity, ranging from temporary synthetic wound dressings to permanent skin replacements, either with or without incorporation of cultured skin cells (Table 47.1). Some of the acellular materials have components that incorporate into the wound bed and may become populated with dermal cells from the host. These dermal substitutes replace the dermal component of the... 

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