Researchers from the Faculty of Agriculture of Brno’s Mendel University tested a new composition of patches for healing burnt tissue. In collaboration with other institutions, they developed an innovative technique of adding organic nanoparticles with embedded fish oil to the patch base. The results of the experiment showed that in some cases the new composition of the patches had a better effect on the healing of skin wounds than procedures currently in use. Photo credit: Mendel University.
Brno, 23 April (BD) – “The inspiration for the whole study were the doctors from St. Anne’s University Hospital. They told us they had a good experience with fish oil. They used it in oncological patients who had extensive wounds after the operation on the tumour, and they allegedly healed better thanks to drinks containing fish oil,” said project manager Tomáš Komprda from the Institute of Food Technology at Mendel University.
The base of the patch, the so-called cover, served as a control. It was created by Lucy Vojtová, head of the research group of Advanced Biomaterials from CEITEC BUT. The researchers then inserted organic nanoparticles, fish oil alone and the antibiotic mupirocin itself, which is commonly used to heal skin wounds. The researchers also prepared a variant in which nanoparticles with incorporated fish oil and nanoparticles with incorporated mupirocin were inserted into the cover.
Scientists from the Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine also worked on parts of the experiment. From Mendel University, researchers from the Institute of Food Technology and the Institute of Animal Morphology, Physiology and Genetics also took part.
The healing process is dynamic, so the researchers took samples on the 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st day after the wound. “It was interesting that the fish oil itself, mupirocin and the combination of nanoparticles with fish oil had a peak of new blood vessel formation on the 14th day, and after that the formation decreased. Whereas control and other variants increased until day 21. This means really accelerated blood vessel formation as a prerequisite for faster proliferation,” explained Zbyšek Sládek from the Institute of Animal Morphology, Physiology and Genetics.
Researchers are already working on further variations for the experiment, and ways in which the healing effects of skin wound healing patches could be further improved, such as by using inorganic nanoparticles instead of organic ones.
