# Ultrathin dissolvable antibiofilm wound contact dressing with silver and gallium

> **NIH NIH R44** · IMBED BIOSCIENCES, INC. · 2020 · $749,150

## Abstract

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outside the Government, except for purposes of review and evaluation.!
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SUMMARY
The health care costs associated with treatment of chronic wounds exceeds $25 billion annually in the U.S.
Biofilms are implicated as a key factor responsible for delayed healing. Many wounds have complex surfaces
and debridement can be challenging, leaving biofilm fragments that remain resistant to antimicrobial therapy and
act as a nidus for recrudescence of biofilms. There is no commercially available topical formulation effective in
dispersal of biofilms in wounds. Research at Imbed Biosciences, funded by NIH and private equity investments,
has resulted in the development of an ultrathin wound contact matrix with a unique form factor. MicroLyte® Matrix
is a 20-25 µm-thick dissolvable polymeric multilayer film that allows painless placement in wounds and can be
engineered to dissolve over several days. The ultrathin matrix conforms intimately to the underlying contours of
a wound bed to provide localized and long-term release of bioactive molecules. Imbed recently obtained FDA
clearance for MicroLyte® Ag wound matrix based on that platform, where the matrix was impregnated with silver
nanoparticles formed in situ. It has been used successfully to heal chronic wounds in thousands of patients in
U.S. It is effective in killing a broad spectrum of bacteria in vitro and in infected wound models in mice. However,
it is not effective in killing bacteria encased in biofilms. In our recently published study, we demonstrated synergy
of silver and gallium (Ga3+) ions in eliminating biofilms. Based on those scientific findings and successful clinical
adoption of MicroLyte® Ag matrix ultrathin form factor in hospitals, objective of this SBIR project is to develop an
economic, easy to place, dissolvable wound contact matrix that can deploy synergy of silver and gallium on a
wound surface to eliminate biofilms. Results of Phase 1 feasibility study documented that MicroLyte Matrix, when
strategically impregnated with non-toxic loadings of silver nanoparticles and gallium in polymeric multilayers, is
able to disperse >4 log10 CFUs of bacteria in a mixed species biofilm in vitro. In a delayed wound healing model
in mice, such a matrix eliminated >90% of bacteria in a pre-established robust biofilm within 3 days of treatment.
These results proved our scientific premise of amplifying synergy in pairing gallium and silver ions against biofilm
bacteria by presenting them in a microscale matrix. Phase 1 results provide strong support for pursuing a Phase
2 study to optimize the MicroLyte Matrix design that can obtain faster elimination of biofilms in the wound bed.
The goals of Phase 2 research are: (1) Tailor MicroLyte Matrix for higher loadings and extended release of silver
and gallium, (2) Screen biocompatibility limits of silver and gallium in the matrix,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10017650
- **Project number:** 5R44AR073710-03
- **Recipient organization:** IMBED BIOSCIENCES, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Ankit Agarwal
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $749,150
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-18 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10017650

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10017650, Ultrathin dissolvable antibiofilm wound contact dressing with silver and gallium (5R44AR073710-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10017650. Licensed CC0.

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