Functional wound dressing materials with highly tunable drug release properties

Abstract

Wound dressings, capable of local controlled delivery of non-steroid anti-inflammatory pain-killing drugs (NSAIDs) to the wound bed, offer great potential to accelerate wound healing, hence increase the quality of patient life. With local NSAID delivery, unwanted side effects encountered in their systemic delivery, are drastically diminished. In this study, four functional fibrous wound dressing materials, namely viscose, alginate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) loaded with a NSAID, diclofenac sodium (DCF) are prepared, and their suitability to tune the release rate of DCF is evaluated. Through careful examination of material–drug combinations, in terms of their physicochemical properties (air permeability, wettability and water retention) and structural/morphological properties (infrared spectroscopy, wide angle X-ray scattering and scanning electron microscopy), possible wound care applications are proposed. In vitro release studies using an automated Franz diffusion cell system, combined with UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy for drug release profile determination, are performed as the final pre-formulation test. Results showed significant differences in the release profiles between different material–drug combinations, making the examined materials highly applicable for several wound care applications. The present study presents a novel cost effective approach for preparation of drug loaded wound dressing materials without a sacrifice in patient safety. Additionally, novel methods and material–drug combinations are introduced, paving the way for possible future wound treatment options.