Efficacy of silver-loaded nanofiber dressings in Candida albicans-contaminated full-skin thickness rat burn wounds

In this experimental study, the effects of nanofiber dressings containing different forms of silver on full-thickness rat burn contaminated with Candida albicans was analyzed. A full-thickness skin burn was formed on a total of 32 Sprague-Dawley rats. After the burn wound was seeded with a 108 colony-forming units/ml standard strain of Candida albicans ATCC90028, the animals were divided into four groups. The effects of topical silver sulfadiazine and two recently designed nanofiber dressings containing nanosilver and silversulfadiazine as active materials were compared with the control group. There was a significant difference in the Candida growth on the burn eschar tissue among the groups. The difference for Candida growth in the burn eschar between the control group and the 1% silver sulfadiazine-containing nanofiber dressing group was statistically significant (P< 0.01). Silver sulfadiazine-containing nanofiber dressing was the most effective agent in the treatment of Candida albicans-contaminated burn wounds. Because of their regenerative potential, silver-loaded nanofiber dressings could be a good alternative for infected burn wounds.