DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF A QUANTITATIVE METHOD TO EVALUATE THE ACTION OF ENZYMATIC WOUND DEBRIDING AGENTS IN-VITRO

Wounds considered for enzymatic debridement encompass a variety of flu id content, microbial flora, pharmaceutical treatment, and pH conditio ns that may affect the efficacy of an enzymatic debriding agent. Devel opment of products for use as debriding agents or for use in conjuncti on with debriding agents requires a quantitative procedure to rapidly evaluate different product formulations for their optimal effects on d ebridement efficacy under a variety of tissue conditions that cannot b e controlled adequately when conducting in-vivo clinical evaluations. A new, quantitative, in-vitro method to evaluate the action of enzymat ic debriding agents uses porcine skin and muscle tissue as substrates. The method utilizes an automated Franz-type in-vitro diffusion cell s ystem for controlled exposure of tissues to debriding agents and sampl e collection for quantitative analysis of enzymatic digestion product release; e.g., protein, peptides, and amino acids. This article descri bes 1) setup and operation of the system; and 2) the practical use of the method as demonstrated by its ability to rapidly assess quantitati ve differences in the action of different enzymatic debriding agent fo rmulations on nonviable skin tissue.