Wound Care and Wound Dressing Textiles
topic
Wound care textiles manage the wound microenvironment through moisture balance, exudate absorption, antimicrobial protection, and tissue interaction across the four phases of wound healing (haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, remodelling). Product categories span simple gauze (cotton, 20–32 mesh, sterilised) through advanced dressings: alginate dressings (calcium alginate fibres, absorption 15–20× own weight, haemostatic gelling), hydrofibre dressings (carboxymethylcellulose fibre, absorption 25–30× own weight), foam dressings (polyurethane foam, 3–8 mm, MVTR 800–2,000 g/m²/24h), and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) foam (reticulated polyurethane, pore size 400–600 µm, −75 to −125 mmHg applied vacuum accelerating granulation tissue formation by 40–60%). Silver-containing dressings (Ag at 0.5–1.2% w/w or ionic silver 70–120 ppm) provide broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity (>3 log reduction AATCC TM100) for infected wound management. Electrospun nanofibre dressings (PCL, gelatin, 200–600 nm) mimic extracellular matrix architecture, accelerating wound closure by 30–40% in chronic wound models. Global advanced wound care market exceeds $9.8 billion, growing at 6.5% CAGR driven by diabetic foot ulcer and pressure injury prevalence.
Role
Wound care textiles create the optimal moist healing environment that accelerates wound closure while managing infection and exudate, reducing healing time by 30–50% and hospitalisation costs by $3,000–8,000 per chronic wound episode compared to traditional dry gauze dressings.