Possibility of wound dressing using poly(l-leucine)/poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(l-leucine) triblock copolymer

ABA-type block copolymers (abbreviated as LEL) composed of poly(L-leucine) (PLL) as the A component and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as the B component were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of L-leucine N-carboxyanhydride initiated by primary amino group located at both ends of PEG chain. A silver sulfadiazine (AgSD)-impregnated wound dressing of sponge type was prepared by the lyophilization method. Morphological structure of this wound dressing by scanning electron microscopy was observed to be composed of a dense skin layer and a porous inner layer. Equilibrium water content of LEL wound dressing increased with an increase in PEG content in the block copolymer due to the hydrophilicity of PEG. AgSD release from AgSD-impregnated wound dressing in PBS buffer (pH = 7.4) was dependent on PEG content in the block copolymer. Release of AgSD was increased in proportion to the PEG content in the copolymer. Antibacterial capacity of AgSD-impregnated wound dressing was examined in agar plate against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. It was found that the suppression of bacterial proliferation in the wound dressing was dependent upon the PEG content. In cytotoxicity test, cell damage did not occur by the release of AgSD from the LEL sponge matrix of AgSD-medicated wound dressing. In in vivo test, granulous tissue formation and wound contraction for the AgSD- and dehydroepiandrosterone-impregnated LEL-2 wound dressing were faster than for any other groups.