The Beneficial Effects of Chitosan Dressing in Third‑Degree Swine Burn Model

Abstract

Background: Chitosan is a kind of chitin derivative, which has unique biological properties, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, and extremely low toxicity, considered as a suitable material for promoting wound healing. Aim: We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of chitosan dressing for burn wound healing in swine model. Methods: In this study, we evaluated the wound healing in a swine model of full thickness cutaneous burn to assess the benefits of chitosan dressing treatment compared to commercial gauze. We also investigated the effect of chitosan dressing in inhibiting the growth of bacteria as well as the survival ability of 3T3-L1 cells in contact with the dressings. Results: After wounding swine treated with chitosan dressing, it showed an increased wound closer compared to commercial gauze, suggesting that the chitosan dressing treatment results in better accelerated healing. In the antibacterial test, the results showed that antibacterial effect of chitosan dressing was better than commercial gauze. Conclusion: The presence of chitosan dressing was characterized by their high antibacterial activity, and it was confirmed against Staphylococcus aureus in the burn wound of swine. The superior wound healing effect on deep dermal burns of presented wound dressing was demonstrated in a swine model. Our finding suggests that the chitosan wound dressing has a great potential application in severe wound care.