Bi-Layered Tablets as a Novel Platform for Wound Healing and Synergistic Combination Therapy

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Wound Healing Research
• Pharmaceutical Formulation

Background:

• Acute wound management, especially for burns and trauma, presents significant clinical challenges.
• Conventional topical wound treatments (ointments, creams, hydrogels) often suffer from poor stability, portability, and patient compliance.
• There is a critical need for advanced, user-friendly wound care solutions, particularly for emergency and military applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel bi-layered skin tablet system for effective acute wound management.
• To incorporate a synergistic combination of clindamycin hydrochloride, benzalkonium chloride, and recombinant human mitsugumin 53 (rhMG53) for enhanced therapeutic outcomes.
• To optimize the formulation for controlled drug release, improved stability, portability, and ease of application.

Main Methods:

• A bi-layered skin tablet was fabricated using direct compression, featuring a protective upper layer and a therapeutic lower layer.
• The formulation included konjac glucomannan (gelling agent), oleic acid (permeability enhancer), clindamycin hydrochloride (CLC), benzalkonium chloride (BKC), and repurposed rhMG53.
• In-vitro testing assessed tablet properties (hardness, swelling, content uniformity), drug release kinetics, and formulation stability.

Main Results:

• The bi-layered tablet system demonstrated optimized controlled release of rhMG53 for repair and CLC/BKC for antibacterial action.
• Synergistic interaction between CLC and BKC (Index 1.2) confirmed enhanced broad-spectrum antibacterial efficacy.
• The rhMG53-containing formulation exhibited high drug loading (98.5%), prolonged release, and effective wound healing in cell-based assays.

Conclusions:

• The developed bi-layered skin tablet system offers significant advantages in portability, stability, and ease of use over conventional wound care products.
• The formulation's combination of a membrane repair protein and synergistic antibiotics provides a promising strategy for acute wound healing and infection prevention.
• This innovative therapeutic approach is particularly well-suited for resource-limited settings, including emergency and military environments.