Materials scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have developed a new clinical-grade collagen made from bullfrog skin derived from waste from the fishing industry.
That achievement will soon have significant impact thanks to a collaboration agreement with Singaporean medical technology company Cuprina Wound Care Solutions, which specializes in developing products for the treatment of chronic wounds and skin healing, both institutions announced in a press release on Wednesday.
Cuprina will produce a collagen patch to complement its flagship product Medifly, a biological dressing or bandage made from live, sterile larvae of Lucilia sericata flies that is applied to the wound to help remove dead or damaged tissue and promote the healing process the growth of new tissue (a therapy known as larval debridement of wounds).
The statement said the procedure has been shown to eliminate infection and reduce amputation rates from chronic wounds, particularly in cases related to diabetic foot ulcers. For all these reasons, it is widely used in hospitals and specialist clinics in Singapore.
How do both products work together?
The Medifly itself works in synergy with the body’s own enzymes to cleanse, disinfect and prepare the wound for the healing phase.
These properties are crucial to ensure the action of the new collagen which, like a plaster, provides a “scaffold” or support for the white blood cells and the healing agents that allow them to coagulate and form a protective layer. This is intended to achieve optimal healing results and faster recovery by keeping the wound moist during the healing process and allowing the skin to mature afterwards.
In Singapore, 1 in 10 hospital patients are reported to have diabetes and 1 in 20 to be affected by chronic wounds.
Other Effects
Using fish by-products to produce valuable collagen is also a sustainable method of recycling and reducing waste in Singapore, where around 20 million tons of fins, scales and skins from amphibians and marine animals are discarded each year.