Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Committee Chair

Jessica Jennings

Committee Member

Joel Bumgardner

Committee Member

Lauren Priddy

Committee Member

Tomoko Fujiwara

Abstract

Infections and biofilms remain the main major complication following injury/surgery, leading to systemic infections and sepsis in some cases. Up to 80% of infections are due to bacterial biofilm formation, and current solutions such as systemic antibiotic administration and opioids fail to address this issue. Antibiotics for infections contribute to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, while opioid use for pain management creates dependence. The persistence of those problems has led to exploring alternative, non-antibiotic/opioid approaches that hinder biofilm growth and address pain and inflammation without the use of such drugs. The overall objective of this dissertation is to design wound dressings made from natural biomaterials to address infections, pain, and inflammation. This was achieved through the development of electrospun chitosan wound dressings loaded with local anesthetics and biofilm dispersal fatty acids, such as cis-2-decenoic acid. The three major components to this dissertation are: (1) testing of electrospun chitosan loaded with cis-2-decenoic acid and bupivacaine for the prevention of infections in an acute osteomyelitis model, (2) testing of the same materials to prevent infections in an infected scald burn wound model in rats, and (3) the development of a controlled anti-inflammatory molecule delivery method, whereby the therapeutics are released at higher amounts in the presence of bacterial enzymes or a change in pH. Through these studies, we tested the wound dressing in vivo and developed a new approach for delivering anti-inflammatory molecules directly to wound site in as “as-needed” basis.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.”

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Embargoed until 11-11-2027

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Available for download on Thursday, November 11, 2027

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