Vegetable nanocellulose is used in the treatment of burns

The most voluminous product of the pulp and paper industry can also be a solution for medicine. Bleached cellulose, the most abundant natural polymer in the world, can be used to treat burns. The study was conducted by Washington researcher Luiz Esteves Magalhães, Embrapa Florestas, and the Master of Science in Materials Engineering at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) Francine Ceccon Claro, used nanotechnology to improve the physical and chemical properties that add value to cellulose. to develop a membrane to use in the recovery of burned skin.

The results showed that, due to the absence of porosity, the membrane is suitable for barrier applications. "The characteristic of translucency promotes the accompaniment of healing without the need to remove the dressing to badess the wound," says Claro. Another benefit is the cost of production, which could be up to a thousand times lower than that of dressings available on the market. The technology will still be the subject of clinical trials and should be made available to the public within four years. Research data is available in Francine Claro's thesis.

Although the use of bacterial cellulose membranes as artificial skin has been common since the 1980s, this type of manufacturing is a process of low yield and high cost. The goal of this work was to develop plant cellulose nanofibrils membranes with the addition of a healing and bactericidal agent such as marigolds and silver nanoparticles, "says the researcher.

. . Research has used pine as a source of cellulose.

Over the years, a wide variety of substances have been used as a protective agent in burns. The basic principle of a burn dressing is not to damage the skin, providing an appropriate environment to recover the tissue: sterile, moist and protected from the external environment.

What the tests with nelocellulose have revealed is that the material has the potential to be used as a dressing, showing healing results similar to those commercially available, with no sign of rejection. "Membrane reduces healing time

In tests conducted by veterinarians of the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (Brazil) (19659009):" The plant cellulose membrane is easy to apply and handle and presents a good adhesion to the injured skin (PUC-PR) and researchers of the Faculdade Evangélica do Paraná (Fepar) in cutaneous wounds on the backs of rats, the vegetal cellulose membrane accelerated the healing process in the first four days compared to the commercial dressing [19659003] The positive results of the laboratory have made the project one of the projects selected by the Industry Innovation Notice of the National Service of Industrial Learning (Senai), which finances Work to bring innovative products to market The proposal was presented in partnership with the Senai Institute of Biosynthetic Innovation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. t the startup Zynux

.The goal is to produce larger scale films. This new phase should take two years. "Then we will do clinical tests with the postgraduate students of the Evangelical Faculty of Paraná in Curitiba, a course related to the Evangelical Hospital, a reference in the treatment of burns." According to the survey conducted by researchers, compared to the main product available on the market, cellulosic film of bacteria, novelty can cost nearly a thousand times less. "This would mean, for example, an opportunity to reduce costs in the unified health system", suggests the researcher from Embrapa

Calculations took into account the use of bleached pulp from the pulp and paper industry. "It takes a few steps to turn cellulose into nanoparticles. fibrillated cellulose and film. If industries emerge to produce nanocellulose on a larger scale, it will probably be more advantageous to buy the nanocellulose gel that they produce and remove a process step.

Bactericidal effect already in the early hours of use

The study also revealed that the badociation of nanoparticles of silver to the membrane, after 24 hours the film releases 61 % silver in wet environment, indicating that if the bactericidal action depends on the release of the element, the film has an antibacterial potential from the first hours of use

Also study the possibility of badociating other natural products to give different features to the movie. One of the options would be marigold oil, of vegetable origin and famous for having healing properties. "We have already developed a film with this product, at the laboratory scale, but we have not yet tested its effectiveness on skin lesions, but some points need to be taken into account, such as allergic reactions to oil and increased production costs, "says Magalhães.

Traditionally, cellulose has other applications in the biomedical field, and is already used in the kidneys.Temporary substitute for the skin, hemostatic agent, tissue reconstruction, postoperative barrier and hepatocyte culture material (liver cells capable of synthesizing proteins).