Background Nowadays, a wide range of wound dressings is already commercially available. The selection of the dressing is of paramount importance as inappropriate wound management and dressing selection can delay the wound healing process. Not only can this be distressing for the patient, but it can also contribute to complications such as maceration and subsequent infection. Many researchers are targeting the design of dressings with superior properties over existing commercial dressings. However, reported results in the state-of-the-art are rarely benchmarked against commercial dressings. The aim of this study was to determine several characteristics of a large variety of the most frequently used commercial wound dressings, providing an overview for both practitioners and researchers. Methods For this comparative study, 11 frequently used commercial wound dressings were selected, representing the different types. The morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The dressings were characterized in terms of swelling capacity (water, phosphate buffered saline and simulated wound fluid), moisture vapour transmission rate (MVTR) and moisture uptake capacity (via dynamic vapour sorption) as well as mechanical properties using tensile testing and texturometry. Results The selected dressings showed distinctive morphological differences (fibrous, porous and/or gel) which was reflected in the different properties. Indeed, the swelling capacities ranged between 1.5 and 23.2 g/g (water), 2.1 and 17.6 g/g (phosphate buffered saline) or 2.9 and 20.8 g/g (simulated wound fluid). The swelling capacity of the dressings in water increased even further upon freeze-drying, due to the formation of pores. The MVTR values varied between 40 and 930 g/m2/24 h. The maximal moisture uptake capacity varied between 5.8% and 105.7% at 95% relative humidity. Some commercial dressings exhibited a superior mechanical strength, due to either being hydrophobic or multi-layered. Conclusions The present work not only offers insight into a valuable toolbox of suitable wound dressing characterization techniques, but also provides an extensive landscaping of commercial dressings along with their physico-chemical properties, obtained through reproducible experimental protocols. Furthermore, it ensures appropriate benchmark values for commercial dressings in all forthcoming studies and could aid researchers with the development of novel modern wound dressings. The tested dressings either exhibited a high strength or a high swelling capacity, suggesting that there is still a strong potential in the wound dressings market for dressings that possess both.

中文翻译：

---

用于治疗渗出性伤口的商用伤口敷料：深入的物理化学比较研究。

背景 如今，多种伤口敷料已经在市场上销售。敷料的选择至关重要，因为不适当的伤口管理和敷料选择会延迟伤口愈合过程。这不仅会给患者带来痛苦，而且还会导致并发症，例如浸渍和随后的感染。许多研究人员的目标是设计具有优于现有商业敷料的性能的敷料。然而，最先进的报告结果很少以商业敷料为基准。本研究的目的是确定多种最常用的商用伤口敷料的几个特征，为从业者和研究人员提供一个概述。方法 对于这项比较研究，选择了 11 种常用的商用伤口敷料，代表不同的类型。使用扫描电子显微镜研究形态。敷料的特征在于溶胀能力（水、磷酸盐缓冲盐水和模拟伤口液）、湿气透过率 (MVTR) 和吸湿能力（通过动态蒸汽吸附）以及使用拉伸测试和质构测定法的机械性能。结果 所选敷料表现出明显的形态差异（纤维状、多孔状和/或凝胶状），这反映在不同的性质上。事实上，溶胀能力介于 1.5 和 23.2 g/g（水）、2.1 和 17.6 g/g（磷酸盐缓冲盐水）或 2.9 和 20.8 g/g（模拟伤口液）之间。由于毛孔的形成，敷料在水中的溶胀能力在冷冻干燥后进一步增加。MVTR 值在 40 和 930 g/m2/24 h 之间变化。在 95% 的相对湿度下，最大吸湿能力在 5.8% 和 105.7% 之间变化。由于疏水性或多层性，一些商业敷料表现出优异的机械强度。结论 目前的工作不仅提供了对合适伤口敷料表征技术的宝贵工具箱的洞察，而且还提供了通过可重复的实验方案获得的商业敷料及其物理化学性质的广泛景观。此外，它确保了所有即将进行的研究中商业敷料的适当基准值，并可以帮助研究人员开发新型现代伤口敷料。测试的敷料要么表现出高强度，要么表现出高膨胀能力，这表明伤口敷料市场对于兼具两者的敷料仍有很大的潜力。