Known as the silent epidemic, chronic wounds or wounds that are slow to heal, currently affect 6.5 million people in the U.S. and it is expected that these numbers will even increase in the next years according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.


The loss of regenerative capacity with age, together with the high incidence of diseases associated with ulcer formation such as diabetes and obesity, make it necessary to develop new treatments for the healing of chronic wounds.


In this work, we use the laser spinning technique to produce bioactive wound dressings based on iodine-doped glass nanofibers. Laser spinning uses a high-power CO2 laser to melt a small volume of a precursor material. Then, the molten material is swept away by a supersonic gas jet forming super-fine filaments that are eventually elongated and cooled. As result, mats of micro- and nanofibers of bioactive glass with different iodine contents and a cotton-like appearance, are obtained. The individual fibers are cylindrical with lengths of several centimeters. The structure of the fibers is amorphous (crystallization is not produced) and their composition closely mirrors that of the bioactive glass precursor material.


Dissolution profiles determined that these fibers release iodine and calcium ions, serving as a crucial coagulation factor during hemostasis and triggering other cellular functions essential for wound healing. These results, suggest that these fibers produced by this innovative laser technique, are a potential alternative to address the dual challenge of preventing microbial infection and promoting the regeneration process.