An Overview of the Efficacy of a Next Generation Electroceutical Wound Care Device.

Novel approaches including nonpharmacological methodologies for prevention and control of microbial pathogens and emerging antibiotic resistance are urgently needed. Procellera is a wound care device consisting of a matrix of alternating silver (Ag) and zinc (Zn) dots held in position on a polyester substrate with a biocompatible binder. This electroceutical medical device is capable of generating a direct current voltage (0.

Measurement of microelectric potentials in a bioelectrically-active wound care device in the presence of bacteria.

Objective: Wound healing is enhanced in the presence of an external electrical field. The purpose of this study was first to investigate whether microelectric potentials (EPs) can be generated when the innovative design of a silver (Ag)- and zinc (Zn)-printed wound care device was exposed to saline solution which is commonly used to clean wound sites; and second to measure the generated EPs while the device was exposed to bacterial culture suspensions to mimic infection.

Method: An Ag/Zn-printed test specimen as a wound care device was designed to accommodate Ag and Zn half-cell potentials by alternatively printing them on a woven polyester material in a well-characterised dot matrix pattern.

Wound infections and healing: are they contributing factors for carcinogenesis?

The link between inflammation and tumourisation has long been considered as a key event in clinical cancer development. Inflammation and inflammatory diseases can be caused by many factors including infectious agents, altered genetics and various degrees of injuries from simple cuts to traumatic wounds, such as those suffered in battlefield. Improved management of all wound types is critical in protecting affected individuals against the development of tumourisation cues, which may potentially lead to cancer development.

Antibacterial efficacy testing of a bioelectric wound dressing against clinical wound pathogens.

Silver-based wound dressings have been developed for the control of bioburden in wounds. However, the popularity and extensive use of silver-based dressings has been associated with emerging microbial resistances to silver. In this study we examined in vitro antibacterial efficacy of a bioelectric dressing containing silver and zinc against various wound pathogens.

Affinity maturation of monoclonal antibodies by multi-site-directed mutagenesis.

High-affinity antibodies are crucial for development of monoclonal antibody (MAb)-based therapeutics for human diseases. Many new detailed methods for affinity maturation have been developed to improve MAb qualities by site-directed mutagenesis, chain shuffling, and error-prone PCR. Site-directed mutagenesis on hotspots in variable heavy (VH) complementary-determining region (CDR) 3 is a commonly used method for improving therapeutic potency and efficacy of targeted MAbs.

Immunization, hybridoma generation, and selection for monoclonal antibody production.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced by a single clone of cells with homogeneous binding specificity for an antigenic determinant have been used in diagnostics and therapeutics. Many new methods have been devised by scientists for making hybridomas and MAbs. The three major steps for producing MAbs are immunization, immortalization, and isolation.

Significance of infectious agents in colorectal cancer development.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major burden to healthcare systems worldwide accounting for approximately one million of new cancer cases worldwide. Even though, CRC mortality has decreased over the last 20 years, it remains the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality, accounting for approximately 600,000 deaths in 2008 worldwide. A multitude of risk factors have been linked to CRC, including hereditary factors, environmental factors and inflammatory syndromes affecting the gastrointestinal tract.

An overview of biofilm and its detection in clinical samples.

In many instances, wound colonising-bacteria are thought to be capable of forming biofilms, a significant factor contributing to delays or failure in wound healing. This review summarises the accumulated knowledge of biofilm and addresses the unmet need of biofilm detection in clinical wound samples.