Microdialysis—A Model for Studying Chronic Wounds

Abstract

Microdialysis has been used for more than 20 years as a method of sampling the interstitial fluid space. It has been used in both animals and human tissues, in vivo. The principle of microdialysis is based on the passive diffusion of a compound along its concentration gradient. One major advantage of this sampling technique is that it is simple, relatively cheap, and minimally invasive. Consequently, microdialysis has been employed in a variety of research and clinical settings to recover endogenous molecules and metabolites from the tissue space. It has also been used to measure the tissue penetration of xenobiotics and to follow their temporal and spatial distribution. Most recently, microdialysis has begun to be used as a diagnostic tool and its application to clinical investigation at the bedside explored. This review describes the principles of the technique of microdialysis and its current uses in both an experimental and clinical setting. It goes on to consider current methods of wound fluid sampling and the range of bioactive molecules that have been detected in wound fluid recovered using these techniques. Finally, the use of microdialysis as a novel method for sampling wound fluid in vivo and its ability to provide a fluid that is unaffected by the sampling method and that is representative of the wound environment is discussed.

Wound Fluid Diagnostics in Diabetic Foot Ulcers

“…However, this is an invasive technique and it is not undisputed since the insertion of foreign material may affect the wound microenvironment and induce confounding effects on the expression of signalling molecules (Stenken et al 2010;Mellergard et al 2008). Nevertheless, this technique is well established for sampling the fluid of the interstitial space and the samples obtained are usually of high quality (Simonsen et al 1998;Clough and Noble 2003).…”

Iontophoresis of A 13 Kda Protein Monitored by Subcutaneous Microdialysis In Vivo

“…Cutaneous microdialysis has so far been applied to measure cytokine levels to monitor inf lammation and wound healing, and to study tissue trauma [7, [33][34][35]. Iontophoresis is a noninvasive type of delivery that involves application of electrical current.…”

Microdialysis of Inflammatory Mediators in the Skin: A Review

“…Microdialysis has been used to evaluate metabolic perturbations and vascular changes during wound healing and tissue repair (103). The majority of studies have been performed in patients with burn injuries or chronic wounds (see later).…”