Team:Leiden
S.P.L.A.S.H.
Suckerin Polymer Layer to Achieve Sustainable Health
S.P.L.A.S.H.
Suckerin Polymer Layer to Achieve Sustainable Health
Our project
Burn wounds are one of the leading causes of morbidity and lead to the life-long disfigurement and disability of millions of people annually. Current treatments still lack necessary features leading to a high demand for alternative treatments. The biomaterial suckerin combines all required characteristics for a wound dressing, due to its unique properties. Our aim was to use this protein to create a hydrogel dressing. The implementation of a cleavable linker system allows for the coupling of antimicrobial peptides and wound healing agents. Thereby, our suckerin-based hydrogel can improve the prognosis for burn wound victims by both preventing infections and promoting wound healing.
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Severe burn wounds constitute a major public health problem causing 300,000 casualties annually. In 42%-65% of the times, these fatalities are caused by bacterial infections. Besides this, 11 million victims a year are hospitalized, of which many are left with lifelong disfiguration and disabilities.
