Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

7-2012

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M. Eng.

Department

Bioengineering

Committee Chair

Ehringer, William D.

Author's Keywords

Flow effects; HUVEC; Continuous perfusion; HDFa; Wound closure

Subject

Wounds and injuries--Treatment; Drug delivery systems

Abstract

Wounds care and management is one of the most basic needs in the medical setting. Burn wounds, trauma wounds, pressure ulcers and bedsores are just some of the many types of wounds that need to be treated quickly and efficiently. Take for instance pressure ulcers, there at least 3 million reported cases of chronic ulcers and bedsores reported in the U.S. each year alone. Each ulcer can takes weeks to months to fully heal, leading to extended hospital stays and decreased quality of life in patients. Current treatment seeks to protect and keep the wound clean, manage cellular exudates, and in general reduce wound area. This is done by packing antibiotic gels into the wound bed, which have a bolus drug release profile, and covering the area with commercially available bandages. There are many studies documenting bolus drug release profiles and their effects on wounds, but what is distinctly absent are studies which investigate the effects of continuous drug delivery on wound healing. Here it is hypothesized that applying a continuous flow of fresh drugs into the wound bed will speed up the often lengthy wound healing process. To examine this hypothesis, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and adult human dermal fibroblasts (HDFa) cell culture models were used to mimic the wound healing process. Results were characterized by the rate of cell migration and proliferation (wound closure) into a simulated wound channel created in the middle of nearly confluent HUVEC and HDFa cell culture models. Both cell types were exposed to static or continuous flow conditions with and without drug infused media. For the HUVEC cells testing indicates a significant difference between the average rate of closure for flow versus no flow conditions (0.0628 versus 0.0232 percent closure per minute, p = 0.00165). For the HDFa cells testing indicates a significant difference between the average rate of closure for flow versus no flow conditions (0.0595 versus 0.0392 percent closure per minute, p = 0.01606). The research suggests that positive growth rate occurs in HDF and HUVEC when continuous low flow conditions are applied to the cells.

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