Antimicrobial-free knitted fabric as wound dressing and the mechanism of promoting infected wound healing

Fibrous biomaterials are widely used in the design and fabrication of antibacterial wound dressings. Two strategies are used to make anti-infective dressings: antibacterial and probiotic therapies, which have potential biotoxicity and other side-effects. Herein, we report a new strategy for fabricating wound dressings to combat infection. Poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) fabric can remove bacteria from infectious wounds through dressing changes based on its efficient bacterial adhesion. The maximum adhered count of S. aureus and E. coli on the PMP fabric was 1.63 × 106 CFU/cm2 and 4.77 × 105 CFU/cm2, respectively. In addition, the PMP fabric could inhibit the twitching motility of bacteria, which is beneficial for inhibiting infection. The ability of the PMP fabric to accelerate wound healing was demonstrated in vivo in a rat wound model. After treatment with the PMP fabric dressing, pathogenic bacteria in the wound were removed through dressing change; therefore, the wound exhibited better healing speed than when the commercial dressing was used. The low bacterial concentration effectively stimulated the expression of growth factors and suppressed wound inflammation, thereby accelerating wound healing. PMP fabric has three advantages: (1) it has been approved for use in clinical treatment by the Food and Drug Administration; (2) no antibacterial agent or probiotics were used; (3) the fabric could be manufactured through an industrial production process. These results indicate that the new strategy can be used in the design of new-generation wound dressings for antibacterial applications.