Hydrocolloid Adhesion Materials for Wound Healing

Hydrocolloid adhesives are unique in that they are inherently a pressure sensitive adhesive and also absorbent of body fluids, and are different from other adhesives in the way in which they interact with tissue. This important duality has led these materials to become key components in a number of medical device fields, in particular, wound care of burn injuries.

They adhere strongly to the peri-wound skin and form a soft gel in the wound bed in the presence of wound exudate. It is the gelatin, pectin and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose contained in hydrocolloids that enable this gel formation. The dressing becomes hydrated by wound exudates and, as a result of transepidermal water loss(TEWL), the adhesion characteristics change to ‘wet tack’. This is a lower degree of adhesion which means that the wound margin sealing effect decreases, thus increasing the risk of maceration. It has been reported that dressings with hydrocolloid adhesives interact with wound exudate, resulting in liquefied material that is frequently associated with malodour, can resemble pus and may cause leakage. All of these can adversely affect the patients’ quality of life.

In this presentation, the absorbency, fluid handling characteristics and other physical properties of hydrocolloid pressure sensitive adhesives were summarized for various types of hydrocolloids wound dressings which were actually used in clinical field.

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Keywords: Hydrocolloid, Wound Healing, Adhesion Polymer, Hydrogel​