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A complex organ that weighs about six pounds, human skin is a marvel of nature. Without any thought on
our part, skin senses our environment, adjusts our body temperature, shields our delicate innards, and regulates
our chemistry by absorbing certain substances and rejecting others. Though flexible skin does the
same tasks for each of us, it varies widely from person to person: rough, wrinkled, young, calloused, soft,
oily, dark, pale.
Skin rejuvenates itself when it is injured, but we assist the process by cleaning wounds, holding skin edges
together, and applying protective coverings as skin heals. Helping out is a wise instinct: studies show that
covered wounds heal faster with less scarring and pain.
In the last several years, wound care has become high tech: advanced cyanoacrylate bonding agents sometimes
replace sutures, and consumers find spray wound care films stocked next to traditional adhesive
bandages at the drugstore.
Strategic Alliance Answers Health Care Needs
Through a strategic alliance with Dow Corning Corporation, Rohm and Haas is investigating the wound care film field.
Dow Corning, global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation and an expert in health care products,
and Rohm and Haas, a leader in acrylic and adhesives technologies, together are simplifying product
and application development for customers by providing a single interface to their combined capabilities.
Other alliance goals include addressing unmet needs in transdermal and topical drug delivery and related medical devices.
Films Help War-Wounded
Wound care adhesives, now available on store shelves, began as an item in the military field medic's kit to
replace sutures. Considered a stopgap measure, these cyanoacrylate-based adhesives were applied on the
battlefield to stabilize wounds. Also, "Nitrocellulose in solution has been used for some time for wound
care films," explains Henri Guiraud, global business development manager, medical adhesives applications.
"Solvents are the most suitable carrier for nitrocellulose."
Today, other wound care films usually employ different substances - acrylic or acrylic copolymers - that are
delivered in a solvent such as ethyl acetate. These products, however, have disadvantages: the solvent is
flammable and stings when applied. Once in place, these films tend to remain somewhat tacky and can attract dirt.
Water Doesn't Sting
What if someone tailored a polymer for wound care that could be delivered in water? What characteristics
would an ideal polymer possess? Such a film would not only cover the area completely during the first critical
48 to 72 hours of healing, but also remain durable even when washed or exposed to perspiration. While
the product would be impermeable to water, it would encourage moisture vapor to evaporate, keeping the
wound moist but not wet - a critical environment for optimum healing.
A hypoallergenic product, this film would adhere equally well to a broad range of skin types and skin conditions.
It would be inconspicuous as well, and would not draw attention to a wound as traditional bandages
do. Fully cured, this polymer would be smooth, dry, and unlikely to pick up foreign material. A flexible
product that adheres to any profile, the film would wrap durably around constantly bending knuckles or coat hard-to-reach areas.
It might also carry active ingredients like antiseptics or antibiotics. It wouldn't sting or irritate, however, if
it were delivered in water. Well-designed delivery systems would be essential, too: spraying such a mixture
could be more desirable than painting it on.
Its job concluded, the film could naturally wear away, leaving the fragile area undisturbed and eliminating
the "ouch" factor associated with ordinary adhesive bandages.
Liquid Bandages are Popular
Clearly, customers value this type of innovation: liquid bandage spending shot from several million dollars
to tens of millions in just a few years. Consumers and institutions likely would embrace a new product
entrant that offered advances over competing alternatives.
"There is much room for innovation in wound care, and the market for liquid bandages is worldwide," says
Guiraud. "Intuitively and logically, liquid bandages make better sense than traditional choices, but what
exists now could be improved. Stay tuned."
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