Import substitution: scientists from AltSU have developed a remedy on domestic raw materials for the treatment of wounds and burns

30 March 2022 Department of Information and Media Communications
The project “Development of technology for obtaining biocompatible and biodegradable wound healing compositions based on natural polymers isolated from higher fungi,” developed by Anastasia Minakova, an associate professor of the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technologies of Altai State University, will receive three million rubles of grant support.

The development of scientists of the classical university will be many times more accessible than existing foreign and domestic analogues, since they are all made from imported raw materials.

Anastasia Minakova’s project won the competition of the Green Tech Startup Booster as part of the Start program with the support of the Skolkovo Foundation. In total, 51 projects from 22 regions of the country applied for support, five of them won.

The development of the scientists from AltSU proposes a method for isolating chitosan from a fungus of the honey mushroom. Chitin and chitosan are used as external medicines (wound healing, cosmetic preparations), in the form of various pharmaceutical forms - powders, films, gels, solutions.

The main source of chitin in the world are crustacean shells. However, due to unstable raw material cycles associated with the dispersal of chitin-containing raw materials in the oceans, there are problems associated with high production costs and the impossibility of standardizing raw materials.

The method of Altai scientists differs from analogues in the possibility of standardizing raw materials and obtaining high-quality chitosan-glucan complexes for medical purposes, but most importantly, in the availability of raw materials: fungi are cultivated on agricultural waste substrates right in the laboratory at the university. This is also a project of the Start-1 program of the Startup Booster, it is implemented under the guidance of an associate professor of the Department of Organic Chemistry, Candidate of Biological Sciences Denis Minakov.

In a year, the scientists plan to get a prototype wound healing bandage. It is intended for the treatment of superficial burns, non-healing wounds, atopic dermatitis, frostbite, bedsores, aseptic postoperative wounds, as well as in preparing wounds for autodermoplasty.

“When using dressings, in many cases there are problems associated with skin irritation after prolonged use, poor compatibility with wounds and insufficient effectiveness in the treatment of chronic wounds (severe burns, diabetic wounds and ulcers). In modern wound healing biomedicine, special attention is paid to the use of non-toxic, antibacterial, biocompatible and biodegradable polymer fibers such as chitin and chitosan. The structure of these substances has high strength, porosity and elasticity. The polymer created on their basis is biodegradable: the bandage will not need to be removed, disrupting wound healing processes,” says Anastasia Minakova, project leader, an associate professor of the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technologies of Altai State University.

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