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National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences

Bioactive composite dressing for superficial wounds

Description

The project aims to develop an optimised composition for superficial wound healing, to characterise the product, to specify the technological conditions necessary to scale up the manufacturing process and to protect intellectual property rights. The project proposes a new composition including bacterial nanocellulose, collagen and biosilica nanoparticles for application to superficial wounds. Collagen and bacterial nanocellulose-based composites have been shown to have superior flexibility and mechanical strength in healing superficial wounds, while silica-containing materials act as barriers that protect the wound against infection and lead to faster and more efficient wound healing. Such a composition has never been realised before. The innovative approach relates to the novelty of the composition and the use of a symbiotic consortium of SCOBY/Kombucha bacteria and yeast to release biogenic silica nanoparticles from the extracellular matrix of plant material (rice husk and aerial parts of Equisetum arvense). The research and innovation service to be provided includes the following activities: optimisation of the process for the release of biosilica nanoparticles from plant material; determination of the composition with synergistic ratios between components by laboratory bioassays on cell cultures; development and characterisation of the innovative composite dressing based on the synergistic composition; study for the introduction into manufacturing of the product and assistance with intellectual property rights. The technological risk of obtaining the product and the commercial risk are low. The service provider (INCDSB) has the appropriate and necessary expertise and infrastructure for product development.