IIT Guwahati invents low-cost wound dressing

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati researchers have invented a Biodegradable lowcost Composite Transparent Wound Dressing Film. This material, based on the integration of a synthetic polymer, is non-toxic in nature and will create a moist environment that would enable the body to heal on its own through the endogenous enzymes, according to recent research.

The laboratory-scale development was found to be at least 50 percent economical in comparison with similar commercial materials.

Cotton wool, lint, and gauzes are commonly used wound dressing materials.

They are often deployed to manage the wound exudates and accelerate the healing process.

However, a major disadvantage of such materials is with respect to the painful removal exercises that can even damage a healed tissue. Further, their opaqueness becomes a critical issue for sensitive wound applications that demand periodic visualization based analysis and treatment procedures.

The research to address these issues was carried out by a team at the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati. Some of the findings were published in the International peerreviewed International Journal of Biological Macromolecules by Aritra Das, PHD Scholar, Srirupa Bhattacharyya, Doctoral Fellow, IIT Guwahati, Prof. Chandan Das and Prof. Ramagopal V. S. Uppaluri, Faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati.

Highlighting the unique aspects of this research, Das said, “This invention of IIT Guwahati has the potential to make a huge impact on the field. It emphasizes upon the integration of a synthetic polymer namely polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with a natural polymer starch (St) to eventually achieve a lowcost, biodegradable, non-toxic and transparent composite hydrogel.”

IIT Guwahati has created the knowledge framework and associated protocols for successful identification and optimization of polymer hydrogel films for the probable wound dressing applications.

Such customized and effectively designed novel materials provide the necessary hope to address issues such as biodegradability of synthetic polymer-based materials, cost of raw materials and processes, utilization of expensive natural polymers to achieve functional materials, and biocompatibility of developed products, among others. All these are expected to further enrich the on-field applications of polymers in realworld applications.