Ameya Chaudhari, MS

Chronic wounds affect an estimated 10.5 million people in the US, often due to factors such as diabetes, obesity, and aging. The current standard of care includes extracellular matrix-based products that cannot adhere on their own, thereby necessitating sutures and staples for attachment, which can cause injuries to the skin, especially in elderly patients. Furthermore, most conventional patches cannot adapt to repetitive physiological motions such as flexing and tension. To address these shortcomings, we have screened over 60 auxetic geometries to identify the ones that match human skin and movement properties. We have developed auxetic, elastic, and sticky (AuxES) skin meshes that have the following characteristics: (1) auxetic and ultra-adhesive, allowing it to adhere and mimic skin movement; (2) controlled drug release, (3) biodegradable and (4) 3D-printable. We’ve previously shown that our meshes accelerate wound healing in healthy mice, and now, we aim to treat diabetic wounds.