Mariana Henriques

Development of a New Antimicrobial Material for Wound Dressing: Incorporation of Natural Antibacterial Agents into Cyclodextrin / Cellulose Hydrogels Mariana Henriques

Nowadays, wound dressings are complex materials that, behind the mechanical protection, are also capable of interacting with the injured tissue. The incidence of chronic wounds, related with diseases, population ageing, and tissue infection caused by multi-resistant strains of bacteria, has been increasing. Thus, the wound dressing research is now focused on the development of new materials with higher specificity in order to improve the quality of patients? life. In this sense, hydrogels gather favourable properties for wound healing, such as good biocompatibility and ability to maintain the proper environmental humidity, which facilitate the ready removal of the material with minimal pain. This book describes the development of a cyclodextrin based hydrogel as natural antibacterial agent?s delivery system device for the treatment of wound infections. The chapters gather theoretical information, experimental techniques and physiochemical and biological characterization of the hydrogels, supported by the authors? experimental results . The book is recommended for readers fascinated with the innovation on the wound dressing field and biomaterials from natural sources.