Creating a moist wound environment to accelerate the healing process is one of the most promising opportunities in wound care, according to Freudenberg Nonwovens, which says it is the first company to market a combination of hydroactive fibers and nonwovens made of chitosan fibers.

Chitosan is a biopolymer derived from the shells of sea crustaceans, which helps wounds to heal and stems blood loss quickly. This shortens treatment time and cost particularly with reference to chronic wounds.

The number of people suffering from diabetes is rising as a result of demographic change along with changes in diet. This leads to challenging specifications for wound care products used for vein and arterial diseases.

“One goal for us is to stimulate the human body’s capacity to heal itself following an acute injury. And the second goal is to help make life easier for people with chronic wounds,” says Oliver Heneric, business segment manager medical, Freudenberg Nonwovens.

To meet these goals, Freudenberg Nonwovens has developed solutions featuring chitosan fibers. In combination with a hydroactive nonwoven, these fibers bring new perspectives for the healing process and are already proving their worth in practice.

Advanced wound care: Moist environment accelerates healing

The traditional way to protect smaller wounds is to cover them with a plaster. Freudenberg also offers a broad range of nonwoven products for such treatment methods, however, the challenges in the advanced wound care segment are far greater it says.

Modern solutions, for example, create a moist wound environment, which accelerates wound healing by 50%. The materials used must be suitable for sterilization and optimized to suit the wound bed or the patient’s movements. To achieve that, the company uses what are known as hydroactive fibers, which allow maximum flexibility in nonwoven performance.

Freudenberg has developed particularly soft materials for wound dressings that can absorb large amounts of exudate. One square meter can absorb up to ten liters of wound fluid. When the dressing comes into contact with the exudate it gels, adapts perfectly to fit the wound bed and accelerates the healing process.

Customized solutions

In order to meet the very diverse specifications that apply to wound care, Freudenberg Nonwovens designs solutions tailor-made to suit individual customers’ requirements. The portfolio includes six standard products where various fiber mixtures and finishing processes are used to manufacture several different types of dressing.

“We not only offer standard products, we are interested in finding the best solution for an individual problem as well,” Heneric says. “That is why we have also acquired a reputation for offering extensive advice and comprehensive development services.”

Freudenberg’s cooperation with Japan Vilene Company, for example, a joint venture partner in the field of transdermal solutions, has already culminated in numerous innovations.