Force Repair

The project:

A wound is the loss of the anatomical and physiological continuity of the skin. Chronic wounds, clinically defined as wounds that usually do not heal in less than three months, affect up to 2% of the population in the industrial world, with incidents expected to rise significantly in the next years. In Europe, 2-4 % of the total health expenditure is used for wound management. However, current therapies remain insufficient and costly. To date, medical devices to treat chronic wounds have not been able to achieve reliable skin regeneration and reduce scar formation. Therefore, the new research project FORCE REPAIR aims to advance chronic wound management by developing a smart, multifunctional, and cost-effective 3D-printed wound dressing to help control bacterial infection and inflammation. The novel biomaterials-based therapy will relieve skin tension and stimulate healing by combining innovative biocompatible technologies with pro-regenerative active ingredients.

The FORCE REPAIR concept is based on a unique 3D printable hyaluronic acid-based self-healing hydrogel (HA-Ag-DH) with antibacterial and bioadhesive properties, which will maintain the moisture of the wound over a long period of time. The printable biomaterial will allow the placement of each component in a strategic location to fight infection and reduce inflammation to recreate the environment of healthy tissue.

The innovative FORCE REPAIR scaffold will be patient-friendly and can be tailored to individual needs. It will stimulate healing, facilitate wound care management, and thus help reduce associated healthcare costs. By providing a prolonged regenerative effect over at least 15 days, the new wound dressing will significantly decrease the daily frequency of nurse attention to change the dressing and lead to a healed wound with a low probability of opening again.

In addition to advancing chronic wound treatment, reducing healthcare costs, and improving patients’ overall quality of life, FORCE REPAIR will also contribute to the global Sustainable Development Goals. The project seeks to establish a more sustainable production of bio-inks and nanocapsules. Regarding the latter, the process will be adjusted to parameters that ensure the lowest energy consumption. In addition, developing a new digital solution to minimise material waste and energy consumption with the customised 3D printer and the associated software will contribute to EU leadership in producing materials that provide solutions for a clean, pollutant-free environment.

CIDETEC’s role in the project:

CIDETEC Nanomedicine is the coordinator of the project and leader of WP1: Bioink Formulation, Characterization & Testing. CIDETEC will be in charge of developing and characterizing the different bioinks and encapsulate antibiotics and anti-inflammatory. To do so, CIDETEC will use their patented technologies and develop the production process of those combined products according to regulatory framework (WP6). In addition, in vitro validation in terms of cell recruiting and angiogenesis test will be carried out. Finally, CIDETEC will be actively preparing the exploitation plan of the products developed during FORCE REPAIR, in addition to the communication to stakeholders and technical management of the whole project.