Therapeutic efficacy of antibiotic-loaded gelatin microsphere/silk fibroin scaffolds in infected full-thickness burns.
Despite advances in burn treatment, burn infection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In this study, an antibacterial silk fibroin (SF) scaffold for burn treatment was designed; gelatin microspheres (GMs) were impregnated with the antibiotic gentamycin sulfate (GS), and the GS-impregnated GMs were then embedded in a SF matrix to fabricate GS/GM/SF scaffolds. The developed GS/GM/SF scaffolds could serve as a dermal regeneration template in full-thickness burns. The average pore size and porosity of the GS/GM/SF scaffolds were 40-80 μm and 85%, respectively. Furthermore, the drug release rate of the scaffolds was significantly slower than that of either GS/GM or GS/SF scaffolds. And the composite scaffold exhibited stronger antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Hence, we evaluated the wound-healing effects and antibacterial properties of the GS/GM/SF scaffolds in a rat full-thickness burn infection model. Over 21 days, the GS/GM/SF scaffolds not only significantly reduced burn infection by P. aeruginosa but also accelerated the regeneration of the dermis and exhibited higher epithelialization rates than did GS/SF and SF scaffolds. Thus, GS/GM/SF scaffolds are potentially effective for treatment of full-thickness infected burns, and GS/GM/SF scaffolds are a promising therapeutic tool for severely burned patients.
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China.
Yong
Y
Lan
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China; Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China.
Weichang
W
Li
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China.
Yanpeng
Y
Jiao
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: guorui@jnu.edu.cn.
Rui
R
Guo
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China.
Yi
Y
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China.
Wei
W
Xue
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China; Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: tzhangym@jnu.edu.cn.
Yuanming
Y
Zhang
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002056:Burns / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D005349:Fibroins; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014945:Wound Healing
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D047011:Silk; D005780:Gelatin; D005349:Fibroins
Full-thickness burn infection; Gelatin microspheres; Gentamycin sulfate; Silk fibroin; Wound healing