Tiger 17 functionalized onto PVA/CA films accelerates clotting time and reduces microbial action

Abstract

Typically, acute wound healing is a well-organized process that evolves/ends in a predictable amount of time. Chronic wounds result from gradual tissue degradation, and are characterized by defective cell matrix, high bacteria counts, prolonged inflammation and moisture imbalance1. Treatment of chronic wounds requires expensive and individualized therapies: mechanical debridement to remove necrotic tissue, topical administration of antibiotics/anti-inflammatory agents, dressings to provide moisture/manage exudates, and drugs to promote tissue regeneration2. Antimicrobial dressings, that combine dressing and antiseptics/antibiotics in one formulation, have been suggested as potential strategies to treat chronic wounds3. However, the rising of antibiotic-resistant infection agents has turned these systems obsolete, revealing antimicrobial-peptides (AMPs) as viable alternatives. AMPs aside from displaying a broad spectrum of activity against pathogens, act rapidly at multiple sites within microbial cells, reducing their propensity to develop resistance4. In this work, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and cellulose-acetate (CA), all well-established polymers in biomedicine, were prepared in the form of films and functionalized with Tiger17 (c[WCKPKPKPRCH-NH2]). Tiger17 is a little explore AMP endowed with immunoregulatory abilities with great potential for wound healing. Its antimicrobial features are unknown.