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﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿Preclinical evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy and biocompatibility of a novel bacterial barrier dressing.

UNLABELLED
﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ Wounds that become infected can lead to devastating consequences for patients, resulting in substantially increased healthcare costs. Bacterial barrier dressings are a first line of protection against developing wound infections. Most bacterial barrier dressings contain microbicidal chemicals (eg, silver ions, iodine, chlorhexidine) that are released from the dressings, which can be toxic to wound cells. A need exists for cost effective bacterial barrier dressings that absorb wound exudate and do not release toxic materials into the wound or increase the risk for developing bacterial resistance to the microbicidal chemical. The present study reports the development and properties of a novel bacterial barrier dressing that meets these needs.


METHODS
A high molecular weight (~250 k Daltons) polymer containing a high density of quaternary amines (polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride [polyDADMAC]) was permanently bonded onto cellulose fibers (gauze). Microbicidal and mammalian cell cytotoxicity tests were conducted using standard methods. Development of bacterial resistance to the microbicidal fibers was assessed over 10 passages.


RESULTS
The polyquat-treated bacterial barrier gauze dressing (BIOGUARD [BBD]) had high microbicidal activity even in the presence of proteinaceous fluid against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The BBD dressing passed all mammalian cell toxicity tests due to the non-leaching of the bactericidal polymer. Furthermore, the BBD dressing did not demonstrate any ability to induce bacterial resistance in selection vector testing.


CONCLUSION
This novel dressing featuring a bound microbicide offers another choice for wound caregivers to provide patients with an antimicrobial barrier dressing safe enough for prophylactic use to protect against wound infections.