New Delhi: A team of researchers has developed an innovative magnetic wound-healing gel that promises to accelerate the healing of diabetic wounds, reduce recurrence rates and, as a result, reduce the number of limb amputations.
Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS), who created the gel, said each treatment involves the application of a strip pre-loaded with a hydrogel containing skin cells and magnetic particles to the treatment.
To maximize 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.
According to research published in the scientific journal Advanced Materials, lab tests showed that the treatment combined with magnetic stimulation caused diabetic wounds to heal three times faster than current conventional methods.
Assistant Professor Andy explained, “Our technology addresses several important factors associated with diabetic wounds, as well as managing elevated glucose levels in the wound area, activating dormant skin cells near the wound, repairing damaged blood vessels. Restores and repairs the disrupted vascular network within the wound.” Tai, who led the team.
Currently, more than half a billion people globally suffer from diabetes, and this number is expected to increase significantly. Chronic diabetic wounds such as foot ulcers have therefore become a major global health care challenge.
Each year, there are about 9.1 to 26.1 million cases of diabetic foot ulcers worldwide, and about 15 to 25 percent of patients with diabetes will develop a diabetic foot ulcer during their lifetime, the researchers said.
“What our team has achieved is to identify a sweet spot by applying gentle mechanical stimulation. The result is that the remaining skin cells ‘work’ to heal the wounds, but not to the extent that it kills them,” Tay said.
The specially designed wound healing gel is filled with two types of FDA-approved skin cells – keratinocytes (essential for skin repair) and fibroblasts (for forming connective tissue) – and tiny magnetic particles.
When combined with a dynamic magnetic field generated by an external device, mechanical stimulation of the gel encourages dermal fibroblasts to become more active, the researchers said.
