The treatment of skin wounds caused by metastatic lesions is particularly challenging, as few therapeutic options exist that can act simultaneously on both cancer cells and bacteria.
In the framework of a multidisciplinary collaboration, Professor Jorge H. Leitão and PhD student Jeremias Muazeia participated in a study recently published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics. The work reports on the antimicrobial and anticancer activity of a silver camphorimine complex incorporated into a HEMA-based hydrogel designed to be used as a dressing for skin cancer wounds.
Key Results
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Hydrogel disks loaded with the complex effectively reduced suspensions of E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and B. contaminans from 5 × 10⁵ CFU/mL to 0 CFU/mL after 24 and 48 hours of incubation.
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For S. aureus, a reduction of more than 99% was achieved after 24 hours, although the hydrogel showed no activity against this bacterium after 48 hours.
While further in vivo studies are required to confirm their clinical potential, the results indicate that these hydrogel dressings represent a promising approach for infection control and cancer therapy in chronic malignant wounds.
Link to paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517325008002?via%3Dihub