A new carbohydrate-based wound dressing fibre with superior absorption and antimicrobial potency

Heavily exudating wounds can lead to infection and unnecessary trauma if they are not adequately managed. Manufacturers involved in production and marketing of high absorption silver dressings, besides emphasising high absorptions of their dressings are keen to highlight potent antimicrobial abilities of their products against all kinds of pathogens including MRSA. However, there are little or no credible reports on minimal but potent quantities of silver needed in a dressing to eliminate bacteria spread and growth or how effectively the silver within a dressing is released over time. This paper introduces a new hybrid biomaterial fibre made from polysaccharide-based polymers with inbuilt ability to gel and absorb large quantities of pseudo exudates. Furthermore, it will be reported that the new fibre carries up to six times less silver than it is conventionally used in silver dressings and displays a very slow rate of release whilst maintaining full potency over time against known Gram positive, Gram negative micro-organisms including MRSA. The paper concludes that the developed hybrid fibre has long lasting antimicrobial and gelling properties comparable, if not better, than Acticoat AA and Aquacel Ag, two commercially available silver dressings.