I-Corps: Conductive hydrogel that can be applied to accelerate wound healing for diabetic patients with foot ulcers

Award ID: 2232663

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a wound care treatment for diabetic patients with foot ulcers. There is a current need for treatments that will reduce the number of people in the U.S. suffering from chronic non-healing wounds, such as higher stage diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers, as these are a significant economic burden on the healthcare system. The proposed technology is expected to accelerate wound healing by 25% and reduce infection rates by 10%. In addition, the proposed treatment may improve the well-being of the diabetic community by reducing the number of patients that suffer complications such as lower limb amputation and death due to foot ulcers. The proposed technology also may improve the quality of life for people living with limited mobility such as spinal cord injury patients and those in elder care facilities by reducing the healing time of pressure ulcers. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a conductive hydrogel treatment to improve wound healing. Specifically, the proposed technology is a conductive Hyaluronic Acid (HA)-based hydrogel that may be topically applied directly to wounds to initiate and accelerate the healing process while reducing the incidence of infection. To date, the research has focused on material development where the viscoelastic, swelling, degradation and conductive properties of the hydrogel were characterized. In addition, in vitro testing to assess the viability and proliferation of stem cells encapsulated within the hydrogel was conducted. A topical conductive hydrogel treatment may advance knowledge of the effectiveness of conductive biomaterials for treatment of dermal wounds. Further, adjunctive application of the proposed treatment with transdermal electrical stimulation may potentially guide the direction of future wound care treatments. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman