Spacer fabric-based exuding wound dressing – Part II : comparison with commercial wound dressings

Abstract

In this study, a three-layered composite structure based on spacer fabric was designed for absorbent wound dressings. The fabrication and selection of spacer fabrics were discussed in Part I. In this part, two selected spacer fabrics were further modified by covering a polyurethane or a polystyrene electrospun nanofibrous membrane onto their outer layer surface to form the final spacer fabric-based dressing products. In order to confirm the performance of these new spacer fabric-based dressings, the comparisons were conducted with three types of commercial wound dressings. The comparison indicators included the water contact angle, wettability, absorbency, air permeability and water vapor transmission rate. The results showed that in addition to very good water vapor and air permeability, the developed spacer fabric-based dressings had better absorbing properties than commercial foam dressings. Furthermore, their wettability was also good for application as wound dressings. The study has paved a new way to produce advanced wound dressings using three-dimensional textile structures.