Gallium‐Loaded Dissolvable Microfilm Constructs that Provide Sustained Release of Ga3+ for Management of Biofilms. Issue 18 (24th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Herron, Maggie; Schurr, Michael J.; Murphy, Christopher J.; McAnulty, Jonathan F.; Czuprynski, Charles J.; Abbott, Nicholas L.
• Is Part Of: Advanced healthcare materials. Volume 4:Issue 18(2015)
• Page Start: 2849
• Page End: 2859
• Publication Date: 2015-11-24
• Subjects: biofilms -- gallium nitrate -- microfilms -- polymers -- wound dressing; Biomedical materials -- Periodicals; 610.28
• DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201500599
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2192-2640

Abstract

Abstract : The persistence of bacterial biofilms in chronic wounds delays wound healing. Although Ga 3+ can inhibit or kill biofilms, precipitation as Ga(OH)3 has prevented its use as a topical wound treatment. The design of a microfilm construct comprising a polyelectrolyte film that releases noncytotoxic concentrations of Ga 3+ over 20 d and a dissolvable micrometer‐thick film of polyvinylalcohol that enables facile transfer onto biomedically important surfaces is reported. By using infrared spectroscopy, it is shown that the density of free carboxylate/carboxylic acid and amine groups within the polyelectrolyte film regulates the capacity of the construct to be loaded with Ga 3+ and that the density of covalent cross‐links introduced into the polyelectrolyte film (amide‐bonds) controls the release rate of Ga 3+ . Following transfer onto the wound‐contact surface of a biologic wound dressing, an optimized construct is demonstrated to release ≈0.7 μg cm −2 d −1 of Ga 3+ over 3 weeks, thus continuously replacing Ga 3+ lost to precipitation. The optimized construct inhibits formation of P. aeruginosa (two strains; ATCC 27853 and PA01) biofilms for up to 4 d and causes pre‐existing biofilms to disperse. Overall, this study provides designs of polymeric constructs that permit facile modification of the wound‐contacting surfaces of dressings and biomaterials to manage biofilms. Abstract : Bacterial biofilms have been shown to delay the healing of wounds . Here, the incorporation of the antibiofilm agent Ga 3+ into polymeric nanofilms, modification of the nanofilms by cross‐linking to control the release rate of Ga 3+, integration of the nanofilms onto wound dressings using micrometer‐thick water‐soluble casts, and the effectiveness of the nanofilms in inhibiting and dispersing biofilms are reported.