Anti-biofilm strategies and the need for innovations in wound care

Abstract

With an aging and obese population, chronic wounds such as diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, and venous leg ulcers are of an increasingly relevant medical concern in the developed world. Identification of bacterial biofilm contamination as a major contributor to non-healing wounds demands biofilm-targeted strategies to treat chronic wounds. While the current standard of care has proven marginally effective, there are components of standard care that should remain part of the wound treatment regime including systemic and topical antibiotics, antiseptics, and physical debridement of biofilm and devitalized tissue. Emerging anti-biofilm strategies include novel, non-invasive means of physical debridement, chemical agent strategies, and biological agent strategies. While aging and obesity will continue to be major burdens to wound care, the emergence of wounds associated with war require investigation and biotechnology development to address biofilm strategies that manage multi-drug resistant bacteria contaminating the chronic wound. The article presents some of the recent patents related to anti-biofilm strategy in wound care.

Fig. (1).. The biofilm hypothesis as it applies to chronic wounds.

In a chronic wound, bacterial colonization of the wound bed progresses to biofilm formation. The infection persists because microorganisms in biofilms are resistant to killing by systemic antibiotics, topical antiseptics, and components of the host immune system. The presence of biofilm impairs the normal wound healing process resulting in a chronic wound.