Nonetheless, other parameters could be adjusted to accommodate a change Abiraterone Sigma in one parameter, such as the fiber size, to obtain the desired properties of the final product. The samples made were reproducible as far as the size/geometry of the container where alginate fiber formation took place remained the same. The size/geometry of the container influenced how the fibers were compacted. The protocols for making the dressings described in this report produced dressings the size of 5.5 cm by 5 cm. Scaling up to 10 cm �� 10 cm, which is a size common for wound dressings, should be easily achieved with a slightly larger container. The characteristics of the scaled up dressings are not expected to change significantly.
Tensile elastic modulus It is important that a dressing be flexible and soft so that it conforms to the contour of the wound and keeps the patient comfortable. However, it is also important that the wound dressing be able to withstand manipulation in the application process without tearing. None of the samples made in this test were easily broken or torn during handling or while being examined for various properties. All of the fibrous samples exhibited a delayed split fracture mode because of the isotropic fiber alignment.21 During the tensile test, some fibers were fractured, while others were separated from one another. Hence, the tensile force (N) measured should be a combination of the strength of the fiber material and the adhesive strength between fibers. Compared with the control, the rest of the samples either had a lower degree of crosslinking (sample Ca) or a more loosely bound fiber structure (samples P, D and A).
The lack of calcium crosslinking reduced Young��s modulus of the alginate hydrogel,22,23 and the reduced binding between the fibers reduced the tensile stress the samples. The control thus had the highest elastic modulus of all samples (p < 0.05) (Fig. 3). Figure 3. Young��s modulus of the rehydrated samples. Data are presented as the mean �� SD (n = 6). *Indicates data significantly different from the control sample (p < 0.05). Chiu et al. reported that the commercial dressing Kaltostat? had a Young��s modulus of 1.2 MPa.24 Our wetspun fibrous samples were not as durable but were more flexible (Young��s moduli between 0.026�C0.148 MPa) compared with Kaltostat?. Hence, they were expected to conform better to the contours of the wound bed.
Swelling ratio The swelling ratios measured the capacity of water (exudate) absorbance of the wound dressing. Sample Ca had a significantly lower swelling ratio than the control (p < 0.05) (Fig. 4). This behavior was most likely due to sample Ca��s highly compact structure, which lowered the amount of surface area that was exposed to the aqueous solution. Samples P and Brefeldin_A D had loose structures, hence higher swelling ratios, compared with the control (p < 0.05). Sample A had a higher initial swelling ratio than the control (p < 0.