Bacterial biocellulose gel and calcium alginate in wound healing in burn model

• Grant number: 19/14977-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2019
• End date: November 30, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Guilherme Ferreira Caetano
• Grantee: Lauriene Luiza de Souza Munhoz
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa. Centro Universitário Hermínio Ometto (UNIARARAS). Fundação Hermínio Ometto (FHO). Araras , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The skin is considered the largest human organ, presenting extreme importance because it performs various mechanical and biological functions. Burn injuries are considered as a tissue trauma caused by a thermal, radioactive or chemical action. Due to the high incidence of mortality, the individuals affected by burn injury need to receive immediate assistance, since the injury is characterized by reaching a systemic profile. Because it is a situation with a high rate of morbidity and a long period of treatment, it demands a high cost with medical care. For some reasons, regenerative medicine and biotechnology are areas of research that develop and study alternative treatments for tissue loss or replacement by using biodegradable materials for protection, replacement or scaffolds for cell growth. In this context, bacterial cellulose (CB) has been shown to be a promising natural biological material for the treatment of wounds and burns, especially for its morphological structure constituted by nanofibers organized in three-dimensional. In addition, CB is extremely hydrophilic, providing moist environment to the lesion bed, an important quality for the treatment of burns. By facilitating the development of gelling products, which would favor the healing of burns, alginate can be incorporated into biocellulose to form hydrogels that resemble the extracellular matrix to absorb moisture and maintain a suitable moist microenvironment, especially for the tissue granulation. Another positive aspect of alginate use is its ability to serve as a blocker for nerve endings and not to adhere to the lesion bed. This work aims to evaluate the biological application and stimulation of bacterial biocellulose gel produced with calcium alginate in cutaneous burn in an animal model. This study aims at its applicability and thus prospect its use in the clinic, since gels and emulsifiers have better applicability than adherent dressings.