A team of chemists from the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, Lviv Polytechnic National University, has implemented their own development – hydrogel dressings for healing burns and severe wounds – which they have been working on for many years.
According to Volodymyr Samaryk, Professor, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, hydrogel is a jelly-like substance consisting of polymeric substances – long-chain molecules that hold water and give it a three-dimensional structure. The water content can range from 50% to 95%. Such a wet bandage maintains the water balance of the wound, preventing it from drying out. That is, it provides tissue healing without the formation of a scab. Hydrogel, better than a cotton-gauze bandage, maintains a constant temperature, which, together with high humidity, helps to create optimal conditions for the activation of those skin cells that are responsible for wound healing. They are called fibroblasts.
In addition, the hydrogel can contain a drug, ensuring its dosed entry into the wound over a period of time. The hydrogel is also transparent: if the bandage has not darkened during use, you can monitor the condition of the wound and the healing process through it. This makes it possible to apply dressings less often, with less disturbance to the injured and relieving the burden on the medical staff.
Hydrogel dressings of small size (with an area of several decimeters) usually consist only of hydrogel. Larger hydrogel dressings can be applied to a fabric base so that the bandage keeps its shape better.
With the help of hydrogel dressings the following wounds can be treated:
- trophic – those that arose in the occurred in the event of impaired blood circulation and are difficult to heal;
- diabetic feet – ulcers on the lower limbs of people with diabetes, arose as a result of vascular damage;
- bedsores – injuries to skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin: they are also the result of impaired blood circulation in the tissues and are difficult to heal (by the way, such bandages are even better to use to prevent bedsores).
«Before the full-scale invasion, we produced them in small experimental batches for the treatment of postoperative wounds and burns. Now we receive feedback from military medics that our dressings also work well in case of burns from phosphorus-containing fuses, which are more difficult to heal. The fact is that white phosphorus dissolves well in subcutaneous fat, quickly penetrating into the subcutaneous substance and blood. This leads not only to a severe burn, but also to the death of adjacent tissues, the destruction of blood cells, and in large doses – the simultaneous disruption of several organs and systems. Hydrogel dressings can also be used in case of gunshot wounds, lacerations, when a large area of skin is damaged, and postoperative wounds. For example, our observations show that the use of hydrogel dressings accelerated the healing of postoperative sutures by an average of 30%, and sometimes by 50%», says Volodymyr Samaryk.
Specialists have been working on this development for a long time. They even managed to introduce a slightly different technology into production at one of the Ukrainian enterprises which also manufacture hydrogel dressings and send them to the front.
«Several years ago, we had already completed this new development of hydrogel dressings and had the desire to implement it technologically. In 2021, the University allocated us funds and premises, and by the beginning of 2022, we had more or less equipped premises for the pilot project. After February 24, we were asked to set up production for the front. As I remember now, our first batch was ready on March 8, 2022», says Mr. Samaryk.
Specialists distribute their products for free.
«We are not an enterprise, but a laboratory at Lviv Polytechnic, therefore we cannot and have no particular desire to sell. We send through charitable organizations, volunteers, or send directly to military units, clinics, and military hospitals via Nova Poshta. Charities pay our bills for reagents. Formally, we produce research and industrial batches of medical hydrogel products for clinical trials and marketing activities within the framework of the five-year state program for the creation of domestic production of medical hydrogel products», notes the researcher.
In the future, the researchers would like to find an investor.
«The maximum capacity of our equipment is 20,000 dressings per month. It is very little to make them for sale. Therefore, the best option for us is an investor who takes the technology and produces it independently», adds Volodymyr Samaryk.
