Grant: Project Grant - PA: MSK/Skin/Oral Health: Clinical Research - Skin Health

Problems and Solution: Pressure ulcers (PU) are among the top five leading causes of re-hospitalization in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) which frequently leads to infections, low quality of life, depression, and even a risk of death.Treatment of PUs is challenging due to the following problems: 1) They usually are in the form of cavities and void spaces which are very difficult to fill and fix by convectional wound healing products, 2) They are located over bony prominences and weight-bearing parts of the body with a high risk of recurrence and 3) Finally, they are usually exposed to unhygienic environment, have a high chance of getting infection before and during treatment. Research Plan: To address the first problem mentioned above, we have recently developed and successfully tested a liquid nutritional scaffold called MeshFill which can fill all wound gaps and cavities. However, further studies are needed to address other difficulties commonly associated with pressure ulcers. Thus, our goal in this study is to develop and test a new product, referred to as MeshFill-Plus which is composed of: 1) liquid scaffold (MeshFill) containing all nutritional ingredients required for skin cells growth, 2) A cotton-ball like spongy and flexible skeleton and 3) Antibacterial nano-silver particles. As such the proposed components of MeshFill-Plus not only fill up all cavities/ tunnels from bottom up, they increase the physical strength of healed wounds and prevent the growth of any potential germs when applied on PUs. We will initially examine this new product in the laboratory and then in a pig wound model which is very similar to human wounds. Finally, after obtaining regulatory approvals, we will test clinical efficacy of MeshFill-Plus in 12 patients with pressure ulcers. Conclusion: The result of this study makes it possible to assemble the components of MeshFill-Plus in a medical package for treating not only PUs, but also other non-healing wounds.