Replace adhesive bandages for patients

We want to detect pathogenic bacteria visually in wounds, which is not possible with standard adhesive bandages. If you want to monitor the wound healing process you would have to remove the common bandages and take samples and then check these samples for pathogenic bacteria in a specialized laboratory, a long time and expensive process. Our hydrogels are designed for patients with burns or as a special health care product for patients with bad wound healing, for example diabetes patients. We can deliver an optimal wound healing and monitoring bandage for these affected patients without the need to disrupt the healing process.

What’s a hydrogel?

A hydrogel is characterized by containing water, forms a solid three-dimensional network structures and is water insoluble. Most Hydrogels could swell in aqueous solutions, for our purpose as a wound bandage it is possible to absorb some of the wound fluid. The hydrogels could airtight the affected wounds and therefore helps the healing process.

Why use a hydrogel?

The hydrogel(s) we wanted to create are due to their compounds not toxic, biodegradable, biocompatible, while at the same time having a low-cost and easy to manufacturing processes. They are easy to produce in different sizes. While being flexible they keep their stability, which makes it comfortable for patients to wear, and easy to manufacture, handle and apply on patients.

What’s our hydrogel?

We chose the hemostatic chitosan due to its reported intrinsic antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. Chitosan as wound dressing has scar free, excellent wound heal and care effects. The antiallergic chitosan is an ideal scaffold material to manufacture different types of hydrogels, salves, pastes or solid bandages. Besides its great described antimicrobial characteristics, it has a skin cooling effects. Most chitosan hydrogel topical wound dressings are formed using an expensive or toxic crosslinking agent, we aimed not to use any of these compounds. We could help preventing or treat wound infections of any degree of burns.

Production of our chitosan-hydrogels

We were focused to work with basic laboratory equipment. For the preparation of chitosan–alginate hydrogels, an acidic environment is usually required to dissolve chitosan. We manufactured our chitosan containing hydrogel and acetic acid and water. It took several days to figure out the composition of the specific hydrogel(s) we wanted to use for different potential medical applications. A long time continuous mechanical stirring (6 hours) is required to solve the chitosan in the acetic acid-deionized water solution. Under continuous pH measurement it was mechanically stirred constantly for 12 hours. This solution needs to rest for at least 12 hours for further processing.

pH 4-7

pH >8

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