A Highly Efficacious Electrical Biofilm Treatment System for Combating Chronic Wound Bacterial Infections

Adv Mater. 2023 Feb;35(6):e2208069. doi: 10.1002/adma.202208069. Epub 2022 Dec 20.

Abstract

Biofilm infection has a high prevalence in chronic wounds and can delay wound healing. Current treatment using debridement and antibiotic administration imposes a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems. To address their limitations, a highly efficacious electrical antibiofilm treatment system is described in this paper. This system uses high-intensity current (75 mA cm-2 ) to completely debride biofilm above the wound surface and enhance antibiotic delivery into biofilm-infected wounds simultaneously. Combining these two effects, this system uses short treatments (≤2 h) to reduce bacterial count of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) biofilm-infected ex vivo skin wounds from 1010 to 105.2 colony-forming units (CFU) g-1 . Taking advantage of the hydrogel ionic circuit design, this system enhances the in vivo safety of high-intensity current application compared to conventional devices. The in vivo antibiofilm efficacy of the system is tested using a diabetic mouse-based wound infection model. MRSA biofilm bacterial count decreases from 109.0 to 104.6 CFU g-1 at 1 day post-treatment and to 103.3 CFU g-1 at 7 days post-treatment, both of which are below the clinical threshold for infection. Overall, this novel technology provides a quick, safe, yet highly efficacious treatment to chronic wound biofilm infections.

Keywords: biofilm; chronic wound infection; electrical debridement; hydrogel ionic circuit; iontophoretic antibiotic delivery.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Bacterial Infections* / drug therapy
  • Biofilms
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus*
  • Mice
  • Staphylococcal Infections* / drug therapy
  • Wound Infection* / drug therapy
  • Wound Infection* / microbiology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents