In Vitro Evaluation of Chitosan Membranes Stabilized with Varying Acyl Lengths for Release of Therapeutics for Burn Wound Coverage, Infection Prevention, and Pain Relief

Adherence of complex bacterial biofilm communities to burned tissue creates a challenge for treatment, with infection causing 51% of burn victim deaths. This study evaluated release of therapeutics from wound care biomaterials and their antimicrobial activity against pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Electrospun chitosan membranes (ESCMs) were fabricated and acylated with chain lengths ranging from 6-10 carbons then loaded with anti-biofilm cis-2-decenoic acid (C2DA) (0.15 mg/membrane with average weight of 4.68 mg) and local anesthetic bupivacaine (0.5 mg/membrane). Combinations of therapeutics released from modified ESCMs at a cumulative amount of 45-70% of bupivacaine and less than 20% of C2DA. Results from bacterial studies suggest that this combination reduced biofilm 10-fold for S. aureus, 2-fold for Acinetobacter baumannii, and 2-3-fold for Pseudomonas aeruginosa by 24 hours. Additionally dual loaded groups reduced planktonic Staphylococcus aureus ~4-fold by 24 hours as well as Acinetobacter baumannii ~3-fold by 48 hours