A novel silver-containing absorbent wound dressing based on spacer fabric

Abstract

An ideal absorbent dressing requires high absorbency, moisture retention and antimicrobial properties. In this study, the application of silver-containing spacer fabric as an antimicrobial wound dressing was investigated. The silver distribution on the spacer fabric was different from that of layer-by-layered fabric. The middle layer of the spacer fabric contained much higher amounts of silver, while the layer-by-layered fabric had lower silver contents in its middle layers than its surface layers. The silver-containing spacer fabric could keep a better moist environment for the wound than commercial foam dressing. For the silver-containing spacer fabric, 100% reductions in viability were observed for both the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae after only 1 h. The spacer fabric could keep most of the silver in its middle layer and kill bacteria in the middle layer rather than at the wound contact surface. This way to absorb wound exudates and kill bacteria within the dressing reduces the silver concentration on the wound bed, and therefore this could be an efficient way to lower the potential of silver entering the human body, and prevent silver toxicity and accelerate wound healing.