Project description
A cost-effective wound healing agent
Complex wounds such as diabetic or venous ulcers, or chronic wounds from burns are difficult to treat and slow to heal, thereby increasing the risk of infection. Silver is widely used as an antimicrobial agent in the treatment of wound infections. However, its production is costly and environmentally unsafe. To address this medical challenge, the EU-funded NABIHEAL project aims to develop multifunctional nanotechnology-based materials as an affordable alternative to silver for wound healing. These proposed biomaterials will also allow for the controlled release of therapeutic molecules in wound dressings, preventing biofilm formation and facilitating healing.
Objective
Complex wounds impact the quality of life of more than 2% of total population in developed countries being a global health problem with significantly impacts on health care economy. Complex wounds, including chronic wounds or major burns, are highly susceptible to microbial infection and biofilm formation, difficult to treat. Silver is a metal widely used in antimicrobial products to treat wound infections. However, silver-based products are expensive, and show several drawbacks due to costs, and environmental and safety concerns. NABIHEAL project will develop, from PoC (TRL3) to preclinical regulatory (TRL5), multifunctional biomaterials to solve some of the unmet medical needs in wound management, obtaining affordable treatments of wound infections or prevention of complications during all phases of wound healing. At short and medium term, NABIHEAL will end up with at least two innovative multifunctional wound healing biomaterials, using affordable EU-based manufacturing technologies. At long term, NABIHEAL could become a game-change alternative to silver in wound healing dressings. A consortium composed by 5 SME and 9 academic institutions, with expertise in wound healing product development, evaluation and commercialization, nanotechnology, safety, and regulatory will join forces to address this ambitious objective.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
28029 Madrid
Spain