The Center for Military Biomaterials Research (CeMBR), part of the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials at Rutgers University, led development of a breakthrough spray-on dressing for injuries. The trademarked GelSpray Liquid Bandage by BioCure Inc., a medical device company in Norcross, Ga., received clearance for marketing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Feb. 1.
The GelSpray Liquid Bandage, says Rutgers, is a major advance in the management and care of combat casualty and civilian wounds. Much like epoxy is dispensed in household kits, the dressing is applied with a dual syringe that releases two polymer ingredients. These polymers react rapidly upon mixing to form a gel-based dressing that frontline combat soldiers can apply to their own wounds. The dressing conforms to the wound geometry, adheres to intact skin but not directly to the injured tissue, and resists abrasion. While created for the military, the GelSpray technology has potential uses in civilian health care. Future versions of the liquid bandage may be suitable for use by civilian rescue teams to treat traumatic wounds and burns, as well as in the treatment of diabetic ulcers, ostomies and post-op wounds. Future products based on the GelSpray technology platform will include active ingredients to treat infection and pain, and control severe bleeding.
Rutgers’ CeMBR was created to link academia, industry and the military to fulfill urgent military medical care needs. Its mission is to familiarize the biomedical research community with the unique needs of combat casualty care and to foster the development of innovative medical technologies to treat injured soldiers. The center is supported with funding from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) and its Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Center at Fort Detrick, Md. “In this case, it was the mission of our center to collaborate with industry to conduct research that resulted in a new product,” says Joachim Kohn, the principal investigator at CeMBR and Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry at Rutgers.
In the collaboration with BioCure, the Rutgers center supported the research part of the product development effort with funding from the USAMRMC. Kohn explained that the close collaboration among BioCure, the U.S. Army and Rutgers moved the project rapidly from concept to FDA market clearance. “The process took about three and a half years—a truly remarkable achievement,” Kohn adds.
