Polymer Gel Prevents Skin Grafts from Shrinking

A gel that contains an enzyme-inhibiting drug could prevent the painful and disfiguring contractions of skin grafts used to treat burns.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom) found that an enzyme called lysyl oxidase is involved in causing the skin graft contraction by initiating cross-linking between collagen fibers in the deep dermal layer of the skin. They then identified a compound that inhibits the enzyme, called 3-aminopropionitrile (APN), and combined it with a biocompatible polymer gel that is smeared onto the graft. The research team worked with polymer chemist Prof. Steven Armes, PH.D., (also of the University of Sheffield), to develop the gel.

Tests of the drug on human skin samples were successful; while control grafts contracted to about 60% of their original size, those in which the polymer gel was applied only contracted down to 80%. The study results were presented at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC, London, United Kingdom) Biomaterials conference, held in Manchester (UK) during January 2008.

"Our polymer gel is well tolerated by the skin and releases the drug in a controlled manner over about 48 hours,” said lead investigator Prof. Sheila MacNeil, Ph.D. "We're just beginning to get results from these in vitro experiments with the gel, but they look promising and, if they're successful, we would like to move into the clinic.”

Currently the only accepted treatment for graft contraction, which occurs significantly in nearly a third of burn care patients, is to have the patient wear pressure garments--extremely tight clothing that pushes down on the dermis to prevent it forming bumps of contracted tissue.


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