Based on the preliminary clinical data, NFC dressing seems to be promising for skin graft donor site treatment since it is biocompatible, attaches easily to wound bed, and remains in place until donor site has renewed. It also detaches from the epithelialized skin by itself.

Concentrated 3% and 6.5% anionic nanofibrillar cellulose (ANFC) hydrogels were introduced as matrix reservoirs for controlled delivery applications of small molecules and proteins. A further aim was to study how the freeze-drying and subsequent rehydration of ANFC hydrogel affects the rheological properties and drug release of selected model compounds from the reconstructed hydrogels. It was demonstrated that the 3% and 6.5% ANFC hydrogels can be freeze-dried with suitable excipients into highly porous aerogel structures and redispersed back into the hydrogel form without significant change in the rheological properties. Freeze-drying did not affect the drug release properties from redispersed ANFC hydrogels, indicating that these systems could be stored in the dry form and only redispersed when needed. For large molecules, the diffusion coefficients were significantly smaller when higher ANFC fiber content was used, indicating that the amount of ANFC fibers in the hydrogel can be used to control the release rate. The release of small molecules was controlled with the ANFC fiber content only to a moderate extent. The results indicate that ANFC hydrogel can be used for controlled delivery of several types of molecules and that the hydrogel can be successfully freeze-dried and redispersed.

Co-last responsibility. Objective: Skin graft donor site management is a concern particularly for elderly patients and patients with poor wound healing competence, and also because donor sites are a source of pain and discomfort. Although different types of dressings exist, there is no consensus regarding optimal dressing type on donor site care to promote healing, reduce pain, and improve patients' comfort. Approach: This prospective, single-center clinical trial evaluated the performance of nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) wound dressing (FibDex Ò by UPM-Kymmene Corporation) for treatment of donor sites compared with a polylactide-based copolymer dressing. The study enrolled 24 patients requiring skin grafting with mean age of 49-18. The primary outcome measure was wound healing time. Secondary outcomes, the epithelialization, subjective pain, the scar appearance assessed using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS), and skin elasticity and transepidermal water loss (TEWL), were evaluated at 1 and 6 months postoperatively. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed between NFC and copolymer dressings regarding wound healing time, epithelialization, experience of pain, or TEWL. Significant differences were observed in the POSAS results for thickness and vascularity in the Observer score, in the favor of NFC over copolymer dressing. Moreover, skin elasticity was significantly improved with NFC dressing in terms of viscoelasticity and elastic modulus at 1 month postoperatively. Innovation: NFC dressing is a new, green sustainable product for wound treatment without animal or human-origin components. Conclusion: NFC dressing provides efficient wound healing at skin graft donor sites and is comparable or even preferable compared with the copolymer dressing.