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Iranian researchers managed to use nanotechnology to heal deep burn wounds more quickly which is approved by laboratory tests. According to WebDa, wound healing is a multistage process. In deep wounds, such as severe damage to skin and second or third degree burns the process of healing is very slow and hardly complete. This prevents the burn to heal completely. In some cases, severe infections and inadequate blood supply to the burnt area might delay the process of healing. Currently, more than 6 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic ulcers. Researchers of pharmaceutical sciences research center at new pharmaceutical technologies research center of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences achieved a Nano-formulation that can heal deep burn wounds very quickly without leaving any scars. Laboratory tests of this Nano-formulation in animal samples have been successful. Pointing that wound dressing is an important aspect of wound healing, Dr. Mohammad Ramezani said: “although use of gauze for wound dressing in very common, new dressings have attracted attention of researchers”. He continued, “In the current plan, a Nano-structure dressing containing medication has been synthesized that not only provides moisture for the wound to heal, but also gradually releases the medication to the wound and improves the speed and quality of healing”. The researcher said, “Positive and promising results obtained from animal samples suggest that the synthesized Nano-formulation can be applied in the burns section or to heal diabetic wounds and enhance the quality of healing for patients with diabetes”. According to him, hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer structures that swell by absorbing liquids; therefore, if used as dressing, they absorb wound secretions and at the same time provide the required moisture. This material does not adhere to the wound and protect it against bacteria resulting in reduction of the pain. Mentioning the characteristics of Dextran Hydrogels, Dr. Ramezani said about synthesis and evaluation stages of this Nano-dressing, “Dextran Hydrogels have unique characteristics such as bioadaptability, softness, flexibility and being hydrophile. In this research, this type of hydrogel has been used as the basis for dressing. To this aim, first we increased solubility and stability of curcumin by capsulizing it in PEG-PLA bio compatible Nano-micelles and then loaded it into a Dextran Hydrogel. He continued, “To evaluate the performance of synthesized Nano-dressing, animal models were used. To this aim, wound was made and skin layers were removed. Then, the process of healing began using empty hydrogel and hydrogel containing curcumin Nano-micelles followed by studies on the speed and quality of wound healing on days 4, 8 and 15”. According to Ramezani, Nano-micelles protect the curcumin against destruction and cause its gradual release in the wound area. Moreover, they lead to less inflation, quicker collagen synthesis in the wound area and finally complete healing of hair growth follicles in that area. This research plan was implemented in cooperation with Dr. Mohammad Ramezani, Dr. Mona Ali Bolandi, Dr. Khalil Abnus, Dr. Seyyed Mohammad Taghdisi (faculty members of Mashhad Univeristy of Medical Sciences) and Dr. Marzieh Mohammadi (resident of pharmaceutical nanotechnology at nanotechnology research center and Mashhad School of Pharmacy). The result of this research was published in International Journal of Pharmaceutics (impact factor 3.649) (volume 532, 2017, pages 466-477). |