Prilocaine-loaded silicone dressing with dual-functionality: integrated pain management and wound protection for burn care

Burn wounds encompass skin injuries resulting from exposure to thermal, cryogenic, electrical, chemical, radioactive, and frictional agents. Disruption of the skin barrier and an exaggerated inflammatory response contribute to the impaired healing of these wounds. With the development of burn wound treatment technology, the importance of comfortable treatment for burn wound is becoming increasingly prominent. In this paper, we designed a multifunctional wound dressing based on silicone gel. This dressing incorporated the analgesic drug prilocaine into the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coating to provide pain relief. This ensures prolonged and controlled drug release, achieving effective analgesia and wound protection. We used positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning to compare pain levels in rats, and favorable results were obtained in animal experiments. The PET/CT results showed a significant decrease in pain indicators in the experimental group compared to the control group, confirming that the analgesic function of the dressing designed in this study is effective. In conclusion, our study provides a new perspective on burn wound dressings and offers a potential new approach to alleviating severe pain associated with burn wounds.