Wound infection materials

One aim of modern wound treatment with new materials is the reduction of infection and the normalization of healing. In veterinary medicine, experience with such optimized materials are limited and conclusions are contradictory. Some investigations have been carried out on the leg of horses, but - in comparison with other animals or kinds of wounds - these show different healing processes characteristics [127-133]. The majority of clinical trials introduce modern wound-treatment materials applied in human medicine to veterinary practice. These studies show positive results [134-136]. 

In addition to the infected materials produced by the patient (e.g., blood, sputum, urine, stool, and wound or sinus drainage), other less accessible fluids or tissues must be obtained based on localized signs or symptoms (e.g., spinal fluid in meningitis and joint fluid in arthritis). Abscesses and cellulitic areas also should be aspirated. 

Human cadaveric dermis (AlloDerm ) has been used in a variety of neurosurgical procedures. In a prospective multicenter study by Bejjani et al., ° porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) was used to replace dura matter resected during neurosurgery in 59 patients 18 of the patients underwent tumor resection and 32 patients underwent decompression of a Type I Chiari malformation. A water-tight seal was achieved in all 59 cases interoperatively. Mean follow-up was 7.3 months and both CSF leak rate (1.7%) and wound infection rate (3.4%) were comparable to rates reported in the literature for other materials in dural repair. There were no adverse reactions to the graft and SIS was deemed by the authors to be suitable for use in dural repair. 

Alexander J W, Kaplan J Z and Altemeier W A (1967), Role of suture materials in the development of wound infection , Ann Surg, 165,192. 

Blomstedt B and Osterberg B (1978), Suture materials and wound infection , Acta Chir Scand, 144,269. 

Helichrysum (strawflower, Asteraceae) species are traditionally used for the treatment of wounds, infections, and respiratory conditions (Lourens et al., 2004). In the inflammatory process free radicals adsorb on the phagocyte cells, so the antioxidative activity of the extract and the EOs of different Helichrysum species were examined. Therefore, the plant material of Helichrysum dasyanthum, Helichrysum excisum, and Helichrysum petiolare were collected and the EO obtained by hydrodistillation. The GC-MS analysis showed that 1,8-cineole (20-34%), p-cymene (6-10%), and a-pinene (3-17%) are principal components of the EO. The EOs of all three different species show an antioxidative activity in the DPPH assay, bnt it has to be noticed that the extract, which was obtained by a cold... 

The biological role of all phenolic compounds is not completely well understood but several have important roles in plant growth and development. They act as cell wall support materials (Wallace and Fry 1994) and they are also important in the defense mechanisms of plants under different environmental stress conditions such as wounding, infection, and excessive light or UV irradiation (Dixon and Paiva 1995 Bennett et al. 1994). Dietary phenolic compounds from plants have generally been considered as non-nutrients and their possible benefit to human health has only recently been established. 

Microbial cellulose is found to be an optimal material for skin tissue repair due to its ability to provide a moist environment for wound healing and pain free dress changing. Unfortrmately, microbial cellulose itself has no antimicrobial activity to prevent wound infection. However the lack of antimicrobial activity of microbial cellulose is the main issue to be tackled. To improve the antimicrobial activity of microbial cellulose, researchers have introduced different materials such as benzalkonium chloride, chitosan and metallic nanoparticles into microbial cellulose. Among them metallic nanoparticles such as copper, silver [56] and ZnO [57] have been recently reported as excellent antimicrobial agents. Due to the electron-rich oxygen atoms in the microbial cellulose macromolecules and the large surface area of nanoporous microbial cellulose effective as nanoreactor, the in-situ metallization technique was successfully applied to the synthesis of Ag and microbial cellulose nanocomposite, which could in turn serve as antimicrobial skin tissue repair material. 

Current research focus in wound closure suture is to incorporate extra functionality to the suture besides closing the wound. These efforts include control of wound infection by developing antimicrobial sutures, and acceleration of wound heating process by using bioactive material such as chitin, or to deliver therapeutics that can impact wound heating response. 

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