Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a debilitating complication of diabetes that will affect up to 24 per cent of people with diabetes. They also account for 70 per cent of all amputations in Canadian hospitals. Lindsay Fitzpatrick (Chemical Engineering) and co-Principal Investigator Valerie Ward (University of Waterloo) are leading a team that will develop a sustainable wound dressing for DFUs using genetically engineered living microalgae to resolve chronic inflammation and promote wound closure. Chronic wounds, such as DFUs, are of particular concern because they do not progress through the normal stages of wound healing due to chronic hypoxia (low levels of oxygen) and inflammation. Applying their expertise in biomedical engineering, chemistry, microbiology, genetic engineering, and immunology, the team is designing a dressing that enables adjustable, light-dependent oxygen production to mitigate wound hypoxia and in situ production of an omega-3 fatty acid derivative that can help promote the resolution of chronic inflammation. This novel photosynthetic, pro-resolving wound dressing is a high-risk effort that could greatly improve chronic wound care, benefiting individuals with DFUs, pressure ulcers, and slow-healing wounds. This sustainable, bioactive dressing also utilizes renewable resources without relying on human-derived stem cells or neonatal tissues and will pave the way for in situ production of other therapeutic molecules in future research.
New Frontiers in Research Fund Exploration Program
