Advanced Wound Care Adhesives with New Functional Properties

Wound healing is a dynamic process characterized by three overlapping cellular phases: inflammation, new tissue formation, and remodeling. Chronic wounds, which are often manifested in elderly and diabetic patients, result from anomalies in the cellular and molecular wound repair mechanism. Such wounds can lead to significant disability, amputation and increased mortality. The understanding of the normal wound healing mechanism and the consideration of the complexity of the wound environment, given by, e.g., hypoxia or bacterial infections, are crucial factors in order to develop an effective therapeutic approach¹,². Here, we propose a novel, skin-friendly, industrially relevant silicone/glycerol hybrid adhesive with new functional properties, including: improved moisture handling due to the incorporation of emulsified glycerol and dispersion of active compounds by glycerol-embedding ³. This particular matrix paves the way for an innovative drug delivery system. Various parameters will be taken into account in order to develop a relevant adhesive, in particular glycerol content, glycerol domain size and adhesive thickness.