Diabetic patients, whose natural wound-healing capabilities are compromised, often develop chronic wounds that are slow to heal. Such non-healing wounds could cause serious infections resulting in painful outcomes such as limb amputation. To address this global healthcare challenge, a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) engineered an innovative magnetic wound-healing gel that promises to accelerate the healing of diabetic wounds, reduce the rates of recurrence, and in turn, lower the incidents of limb amputations.
Each treatment involves the application of a bandage pre-loaded with a hydrogel containing skin cells for healing and magnetic particles. To maximise therapeutic results, a wireless external magnetic device is used to activate skin cells and accelerate the wound healing process. The ideal duration of magnetic stimulation is about one to two hours.
Lab tests showed the treatment coupled with magnetic stimulation healed diabetic wounds about three times faster than current conventional approaches. Furthermore, while the research has focussed on healing diabetic foot ulcers, the technology has potential for treating a wide range of complex wounds such as burns.
The researcher says that their technology addresses multiple critical factors associated with diabetic wounds, simultaneously managing elevated glucose levels in the wound area, activating dormant skin cells near the wound, restoring damaged blood vessels, and repairing the disrupted vascular network within the wound.
The NUS team described their innovation in a paper published in the scientific journal, Advanced Materials.
Currently, more than half a billion people globally are living with diabetes and this number is expected to rise significantly. Chronic diabetic wounds such as foot ulcers (one of the most common and hardest to treat wounds) have therefore become a major global healthcare challenge.
Traditional treatments for these wounds are often unsatisfactory, leading to recurring and persistent health issues and – in a high number of cases – limb amputation.
Every year, there are around 9.1 to 26.1 million cases of diabetic foot ulcer worldwide, and around 15 to 25 per cent of patients with diabetes will develop a diabetic foot ulcer during their lifetime. Singapore has one of the highest rates of lower limb amputation due to diabetes globally, averaging around four per day.
Skin cells experience mechanical forces continuously from normal daily activities. However, patients with wounds are usually advised not to carry out rigorous activities, such as walking, and this could kill the remaining cells essential for healing.
What the research team has achieved is to identify a sweet spot by applying gentle mechanical stimulation. The result is that the remaining skin cells get to ‘work-out’ to heal wounds, but not to the extent that it kills them.
The specially designed wound-healing gel is loaded with two types of FDA-approved skin cells – keratinocytes (essential for skin repair) and fibroblast (for formation of connective tissue) – and tiny magnetic particles. When combined with a dynamic magnetic field generated by an external device, the mechanical stimulation of the gel encourages dermal fibroblasts to become more active.
Lab tests showed that the increased fibroblast activity generated by the magnetic wound-healing gel increases the cells’ growth rate by approximately 240 per cent and more than doubles their production of collagen – a crucial protein for wound healing. It also improves communication with keratinocytes to promote the formation of new blood vessels.
This approach not only accelerates wound healing but also promotes overall wound health and reduces the chances of recurrence.
The NUS team worked on the project from 2021 to 2023 to demonstrate the viability of this new approach. A patent has been filed for this innovation.
While the magnetic wound-healing gel has shown great promise in improving diabetic wound healing, it could also revolutionise the treatment of other complex wound types.
The researchers are conducting more tests to further refine the magnetic wound-healing gel to improve its effectiveness. They are also collaborating with a clinical partner to test the effectiveness of the gel using diabetic human tissues.
Advancements in wound healing technologies will reduce the duration of the patient journey and would allow them to return to their lives as quickly as possible, hence improving productivity and quality of life.
News Source: National University of Singapore (NUS)
