Antimicrobial Effects of Nanocrystalline Silver-Loaded Wound Dressings in Full-Skin Thickness Rat Burn Wounds

INTRODUCTION: Burns are one of the most common and devastating forms of trauma. Patients with serious thermal injury require immediate specialized care to minimize mortality and morbidity. Despite major advances in the management of burn patients, infectious complications remain a major contributor to morbidity and mortality. In this experimental study, the effect of two different nanocrystalline silver dressings on Candida albicans-contaminated full-thickness burn wounds in rats was analyzed.
METHODS: A full-thickness skin burn was formed in a total of 24 female 200-230 gr Sprague-Dawley rats. After the burn wound was seeded with 108 CFU/ml standard strain of Candida albicans ATCC90028, the animals were separated into three groups, and the antifungal activity of nanocrystalline silver-containing nanofiber dressing and Acticoat dressing was compared. All rats were sacrificed on the seventh day. Biopsies were obtained from the center of the burn eschar and the paravertebral muscles beneath the burn eschar. Blood was drawn from the left ventricle, and lung biopsies were examined by performing thoracotomies.
RESULTS: There was no significant difference in Candida and bacteria growth on the burn eschar, muscle, lung tissue, and blood cultures among the groups (p>0.5).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Nanocrystalline silver dressings facilitate wound healing and have wide antimicrobial effects. Although these effects are well known, the antifungal and antibacterial activity of the nanocrystalline silver dressings used in our study could not be revealed.