IMPROVED HEALING IN TISSUE CULTURE MODEL OF VESICANT INJURY SHOWN BY HIGH FEATURE ANTIMICROBIAL DRESSING.

Quick-Med Technologies (QMT) has developed a dressing for the treatment of vesicant injuries following debridement under an army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program grant. This dressing is designed to enable optimal wound healing by providing a moist wound healing environment with antimicrobial protection and protease inhibiting properties, through sustained delivery of an antibiotic (doxycycline) and a growth factor (EGF). Sustained antimicrobial activity and protease inhibition have been previously documented through in vitro experiments. Research detailed here describes tissue culture models as used to assess healing of chemical injuries. Epiderm FT (Mattek Corporation, MA) full thickness dermal tissue cultures were chemically injured by vapor phase exposure to ‘half-mustard’ (CEES) gas. Injured tissue constructs treated with the experimental dressing improved healing in a statistically significant manner as evaluated by cell proliferation assay and confirmed by histopathological evaluation. In the untreated groups pathology showed inhibited cell growth and increased detachment. Treatment with the dressings appeared to prevent the characteristic dermal – epidermal separation induced by vesicant injury. These results have prompted progress of the research project to animal experiments.

Acantholysis, Antimicrobial dressings, Blistering, Cellular Proliferation, Dermal-epidermal separation, EpiDerm FT, Pyknotic nuclei, Sponglosis, Sulfur mustard, Vesicant injury, Wound healing

CEES, CEES (2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide), Doxycycline, EGF, Trolox, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamins