title: Development of a biodegradable foam for use in negative pressure wound therapy.
abstract: Treatment of wounds using negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) uses a nondegradable polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) foam in the application of negative pressures typically for 1-3 days. The purpose of this study was to construct and test biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) foam as a substitute for the PVA foam. Such a foam would be left within the wound until healing was achieved and form a biodegradable matrix into which tissue would grow. The use of such foam would obviate the need for any serial foam changes and a final foam removal, thus making patient care much easier and more economical. PCL foams were prepared by salt leaching and phase separation. Morphological and mechanical properties of the foams were characterized and compared to PVA foam. PCL and PVA foams were tested on the uncut surface of a pig liver maintained in a hydration chamber continuously replenished with saline under the conditions of negative pressure of 50 mm Hg for 72 h. The results demonstrated that PCL foam made from phase separation had the similar properties and function as the PVA foam. The results demonstrate that PCL foam is an appropriate substitute for currently used nondegradable PVA foam in NPWT applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Wound Repair-Nanomedicine Research Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Morykwas
authors.forename: Louis C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Argenta
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008099:Liver; D008422:Materials Testing; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011312:Pressure; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol