Targeting Cx43 to Reduce the Severity of Pressure Ulcer Progression.

In the skin, repeated incidents of ischemia followed by reperfusion can result in the breakdown of the skin and the formation of a pressure ulcer. Here we gently applied paired magnets to the backs of mice to cause ischemia for 1.5 h and then removed them to allow reperfusion.

Oxygenated Hydrogel Promotes Re-Epithelialization and Reduces Inflammation in a Perturbed Wound Model in Rat.

Chronic wounds can take months or even years to heal and require proper medical intervention. Normal wound healing processes require adequate oxygen supply. Accordingly, destroyed or inefficient vasculature leads to insufficient delivery to peripheral tissues and impair healing.

Connexin43 in Post-Surgical Peritoneal Adhesion Formation.

Objective: Post-surgical peritoneal adhesions are a serious problem for the quality of life and fertility. Yet there are no effective ways of preventing their occurrence. The gap junction protein Cx43 is known to be involved in fibrosis in several different organs and disease conditions often associated with inflammation.

Bio-Mimicking Acellular Wet Electrospun Scaffolds Promote Accelerated Integration and Re-Epithelialization of Full-Thickness Dermal Wounds.

Scaffolds can promote the healing of burns and chronic skin wounds but to date have suffered from issues with achieving full skin integration. Here, we characterise the wound response by both tissue integration and re-epithelialization to a scaffold using wet electrospinning to fabricate 3D fibrous structures. Two scaffold materials were investigated: poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and PCL + 20% rat tail type 1 collagen (PCL/Coll).

A wireless and battery-free wound infection sensor based on DNA hydrogel.

The confluence of wireless technology and biosensors offers the possibility to detect and manage medical conditions outside of clinical settings. Wound infections represent a major clinical challenge in which timely detection is critical for effective interventions, but this is currently hindered by the lack of a monitoring technology that can interface with wounds, detect pathogenic bacteria, and wirelessly transmit data. Here, we report a flexible, wireless, and battery-free sensor that provides smartphone-based detection of wound infection using a bacteria-responsive DNA hydrogel.

A flexible multiplexed immunosensor for point-of-care in situ wound monitoring.

Chronic wounds arise from interruption of normal healing due to many potential pathophysiological factors. Monitoring these multivariate factors can provide personalized diagnostic information for wound management, but current sensing technologies use complex laboratory tests or track a limited number of wound parameters. We report a flexible biosensing platform for multiplexed profiling of the wound microenvironment, inflammation, and infection state at the point of care.

Characterisation of an ischemia reperfusion model for the formation of a stage I pressure ulcer in mouse skin.

Pairs of magnets were applied to the loose skin on the backs of mice in order to cause ischemia for periods of 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 h followed by reperfusion.

Pulpal upregulation of connexin 43 during pulpitis.

Objectives: Connexins are building blocks of membranous channels that form gap junctions and hemichannels. These channels are essential portals for information exchange and coordination during inflammation. Pathologic levels of these conduits may result in excessive inflammation and collateral destruction.

Temporal pressure enhanced topical drug delivery through micropore formation.

Transdermal drug delivery uses chemical, physical, or biochemical enhancers to cross the skin barrier. However, existing platforms require high doses of chemical enhancers or sophisticated equipment, use fragile biomolecules, or are limited to a certain type of drug. Here, we report an innovative methodology based on temporal pressure to enhance the penetration of all kinds of drugs, from small molecules to proteins and nanoparticles (up to 500 nm).