Technologies

More than five million people in the United States are afflicted with chronic skin wounds, resulting in billions of dollars in medical expenses each year. The incidence of chronic wounds is expected to increase, due to the growth in the elderly population and the number of people with diabetes.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a key molecule in the wound healing process. It directs epithelial cells to migrate to the wound and proliferate, a process necessary for wound closure.

To speed healing of chronic or acute wounds, topical gels containing growth factors such as EGF have been used in wound dressings. However, these dressings have met with limited success. Many growth factors require prolonged exposure to cells, but topical agents are rapidly washed away from the wound or absorbed into the wound dressing. Growth factor concentrations frequently decrease by half within hours of contact with sterile gauze, and constant re-application is very expensive. UW-Madison researchers have developed a wound dressing with a patterned gradient of immobilized growth factors to accelerate wound healing. To create a platform that promotes directed migration of cells during dermal wound healing, growth factors are immobilized on a substrate in a pattern of increasing growth factor concentration, with the highest concentration typically at the center of the dressing. Cells migrate toward greater concentrations of growth factor, and their speed is determined by the slope of the gradient. The surface may also include an extracellular matrix protein, such as collagen, fibronectin or laminin, and/or a factor that promotes the formation of blood vessels.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing a wound dressing that uses a patterned gradient of immobilized growth factors to accelerate wound healing.