Nano-silver modified porcine small intestinal submucosa for the treatment of infected partial-thickness burn wounds.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Silver has been widely used as a topical antimicrobial agent in burn wound care. In a previous study, we demonstrated the introduction of nano-silver particles to porcine small intestinal submucosa (NS-PSIS) led to significant enhancement in antibacterial property in repairing contaminated abdominal defect. In this study, we explored the efficacy of NS-PSIS in the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected partial-thickness burn wounds.

METHODS: 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups of equal number. Standardized and reproducible Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected partial-thickness thermal burns wound model were created using these rats. NS-PSIS, PSIS (porcine small intestinal submucosa) or lipido-colloid dressingss (Urgotul™) were tested for 14days to assess their ability to heal the rats' burn wounds. Control group was without any treatment after the establishment of infected burn-wound. The wound contraction rate, animal body weight change, histological examination, and the quantification of IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured to evaluate the healing effects.

RESULTS: NS-PSIS significantly promoted wound healing and recovered the normal growth of rats. There were significantly lower expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-6) and CRP in NS-PSIS group as compared with the PSIS or Urgotul group in the treatment of infected partial-thickness burn wounds. Histological exams revealed significant less inflammatory cells infiltrating, more re-epithelization and neovascularization in NS-PSIS group. There were also less inflammatory cells infiltrations in the major organs in NS-PSIS group.

CONCLUSIONS: Nano-silver modified porcine small intestinal submucosa (NS-PSIS) can be used as a biological derivative dressing for the treatment of infected partial-thickness burn wounds.