Ohio State gets $1.4M federal grant for wound treatment research

Ohio State University scientists have received a $1.4 million federal grant to study the use of a substance extracted from seaweed and giant kelp to treat burn wounds suffered by soldiers.

The two-year grant from the Department of Defense will fund a study into the use of brown algae extracted from seaweed and giant kelp to prevent the formation of biofilms on wounds, according to a statement from the university.

Microbial biofilms that form at wound sites tend to resist treatment and can create infections in patients. Biofilms are an “intractable problem” for wound healing, a Johns Hopkins physician told Microbe Magazine.

Biofilms are linked to 60 percent of all chronic infections in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and also pose a significant threat to soldiers who suffer from burn wounds acquired in active duty, according to the statement.

The research will be led by Chandan Sen, professor and vice chair for research in Ohio State’s Department of Surgery.

“New treatments with topical agents that inhibit biofilm formation or promote their detachment, and reduce wound infections, could have a tremendous impact not only for military medicine, but also for civilian hospitals, wound care centers and trauma units worldwide,” Sen said.