Researchers have developed a new growth factor delivery system that heals wounds such as pressure sores and diabetic foot ulcers faster than previous treatments.
The scientists found that fabricating nanospheres containing keratinocyte growth factor—the protein that promotes healing—improved healing of deep skin wounds in diabetic laboratory mice when the compounds were suspended in fibrin gel. The researchers, from Massachusetts General Hospital, were pleased that one dose of the growth factor resulted in new tissue regeneration within two weeks.
“Previous reports have suggested that KGF can help heal chronic wounds,” said the paper’s lead researcher, Piyush Koria. He added that in other studies, the growth factor was administered to the surface of the wound, limiting its ability to penetrate more deeply into it.
“Using large quantities of growth factor would make this therapy extremely expensive. Our work circumvents these limitations by more efficiently delivering KFG throughout the wound to stimulate tissue regeneration,” he said. The research was published in the Jan. 18 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
