A critical global public health problem is the rise of multidrug-resistant pathogens. In Chile, this crisis increases patient mortality rates by 42% due to a critical shortage of effective medical treatments.
This crisis, which incurs a significant public health system cost, is being tackled by the Biomaterials Chemistry Laboratory at the Usach Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, where researchers have spent four years designing a clinical dressing to treat chronic infected wounds.
“We identified a critical issue in skin lesion treatment, as many wounds are highly susceptible to infection due to patient comorbidities or multidrug-resistant pathogens,” says Dr. Jonathan Andrés Ortiz, leader of this research project to develop an advanced biomaterial for infection prevention and treatment.
The innovation leverages a bacterial and yeast structure naturally generated during fermentation. While this material is primarily known for producing fermented beverages like kombucha, the researchers have harnessed its properties to develop a plant-based dressing to treat complex wounds.
The breakthrough's benefits include strong mechanical properties, high water retention, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. These traits offer comparative advantages over commercial dermal dressings in Chile due to its sustainable manufacturing, low cost, and exudate absorption capacity. Together, these properties position it as a promising candidate for advanced wound care and skin tissue regeneration.
Through collaboration with Coaniquem, the biomaterial was tested against multidrug-resistant clinical strains, achieving a "nearly 100% reduction in bacterial load against major pathogens causing skin and soft tissue infections," states the University of Santiago de Chile (Usach) researcher.
In the short term, the Usach Biomaterials Chemistry Laboratory research group aims to scale up this development to further evaluate its clinical efficacy. Their goal is to provide a concrete solution for complex wound care, ultimately improving patient quality of life and strengthening Chile's public health system.
The research is funded by the Usach VIME Fund, the Fondecyt Initiation Grant 11230657 from ANID, and Fund USA21991 from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology at Universidad de Santiago de Chile.