The article “The Efficacy of Silver-Based Electrospun Antimicrobial Dressing in Accelerating the Regeneration of Partial Thickness Burn Wounds Using A Porcine Model” has been published in Polymers (IF(2020) = 4.329, Q1) as part of the Special Issue Functional Polymeric Systems for Advanced Industrial Applications. Full text is available online at: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183116
In this study, we created burn wounds on pigs and investigated the efficacy of three biomaterials: polycaprolactone-gelatin-silver membrane (PCLGelAg) and two commercial burn dressings, Aquacel® Ag and UrgoTul silver sulfadiazine. In vitro long-term antibacterial property and in vivo wound healing performance were investigated. Agar diffusion assays were employed to evaluate bacterial inhibition at different time intervals. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and time-kill assays were used to compare antibacterial strength among samples. Second-degree burn wounds in the pig model were designed to evaluate the efficiency of all dressings in supporting the wound healing process. The results showed that PCLGelAg membrane was the most effective in killing both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with the lowest MBC value. All three dressings (PCLGelAg, Aquacel, and UrgoTul) exhibited bactericidal effect during the first 24 h, supported wound healing as well as prevented infection and inflammation. The results suggest that the PCLGelAg membrane is a practical solution for the treatment of severe burn injury and other infection-related skin complications.