Novel Wound-Dressing Material From Bamboo Plants May Treat Skin Injuries

A new compound from bamboo cellulose and silver nanoparticles was found to possess antibacterial activity and treat skin injuries.

Highlights

Wounds and injuries may damage the skin or break the tissue causing infections.
A new compound made of bamboo cellulose and silver nanoparticles were found to treat skin injuries.
The new wound-dressing material is capable of healing wounds completely, and allows regeneration of new skin cells.

A novel compound made of bamboo cellulose and silver nanoparticles may help to treat skin injuries, finds a research team from CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology in Himachal Pradesh and Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research in New Delhi.

The research study was published in the journal Carbohydrate Polymers.

Here’s Why Aging Slows Down Wound Healing
Specialized skin cells that decline as you age is responsible for slow wound healing.

‘Novel wound-healing material from bamboo plants may help to treat skin injuries.’

The new compound may lead to the development of films and ointments for wound-healing dressing materials with antibacterial properties.

Sudesh Kumar, a scientist at Centre of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing in Punjab, said, “An effective wound healing or a dressing material is needed that can cater moist environment to wound, prevent microbial infection and can be readily removed from the wound site without causing much pain.”

The research team from Delhi were found to synthesize nanobiocomposites, by inserting silver nanoparticles into the cellulose nanocrystals obtained from two species of bamboo leaves.

Wound Healing Technology That Curbs Bacterial Infection
Bacteria is responsible for chronic and serious infections in people with lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, and in chronic wounds.

Selection of Bamboo Plant

Capable of growing faster
It has a longest internode segment that allows to isolate cellulose nanocrystals.

Cellulose is one of the major component of the cell wall, they are of different shapes and size with different characteristics.

How Does it Work?
An overnight incubation of nanocomposites material with infectious bacteria was found to provide strong antibacterial activity.

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A high-tech electroactive bandage that creates an electric charge to help promote the healing process of wounds has been developed by US space agency NASA.

The nanocomposite materials were found to inhibit the growth of the bacteria by releasing silver nanoparticles that stuck to cell membrane and rupture the bacterial cells.

They induce the growth of collagen materials and stops the proliferation of immune cells that trigger inflammation, and prolong healing.

Skin Cancer Treatment may Benefit Wound Healing
BRAF inhibitors promote the skin healing process and have a potential to be used in the treatment of chronic wounds.

The presence of few hair follicles in the skin wounds of the mice indicate complete tissue repair after two weeks.

Kumar, said, “Among biomedical applications, wound repair has been a realm of extensive research over a past few decades. Plants are the natural largest source of cellulose, but are largely unexplored in such biomedical applications.”

Benefits of the New Wound-Healing Material

Complete healing of skin wounds
Keeps the wound site moist
Stimulates certain enzymes and allows regeneration of skin cells

The author also concluded that the new material was found to show promising result against acute wound healing. Further research and experiments are being carried out to find its use in treating other types of wounds.

Wound or Injuries
Wound or injury may break the tissue or damage the skin causing infections. There are a number of wound-healing materials made of biopolymers to treat wound and injuries.

Drawbacks with Current Wound-Dressing Materials

Foul Smell
Low Porosity
Poor-Healing Capacity
Toxic to Biological Cells

References

Wounds and Injuries - (https://medlineplus.gov/woundsandinjuries.html)

Source-Medindia