United States Patent 119] [11] Patent Number: 4,576,817 Montgomery et al. [45] Date of Patent: Mar. 18, 1986 [54] ENZYMATIC BANDAGES AND PADS 4,226,232 lO/l980 Spence .............................. .. 128/156 Inventors: Robert E. Montgomery, Paci?c 4,269,822 5/1981 14111666141. ......... .. .. 424/94x [75] 4,379,141 4/1983 Hasegawa 61 al. ............. .. 424/94 Palisades; Michael A. Pellico, Los 4,476,108 lO/l984 108851616441. ........ .. 424/13ox Angeles, both of Calif. 4,486,408 12/1984 Kiel ......................... .. 424/94 [73] Assignee: Laclede Professional Products, Inc., 4,537,764 8/1985 Pellico et al. ................... .. 424/94 X Gardena, Calif. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS [21] Appl. No.: 618,071 2488797 2/1982 France ................................ .. 424/94 [22] Filed: Jun. 7, 1984 Primary Examiner—Helen M. McCarthy Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Donald Diamond [51] Int. Cl.‘ . ......... .. A61K 37/48 [52] U.S. Cl. .......... .. ........................ .. 424/94; 128/127; [57] ABSTRACT 128/156; 424/ 130; 435/25; 604/375; 604/904 [58] Field of Search ............. .. 604/289, 369, 375, 904; Enzymatic absorbent materials such as bandages and 424/14, 94, 130; 128/127, 130, 156; 435/25 pads, for body contact applications, contain serum activated oxidoreductase enzyme for producing hydro [56] References Cited gen peroxide upon contact of the enzymatic materials U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS with serum. An illustrative serum-activated oxidore 4,031,202 6/1977 Laughlin et al. ............. .. 128/130 X ductase enzyme is glucose oxidase with the correspond 4,122,158 10/1978 Schmitt ........................... .. 424/94 X ing substrate in serum being glucose. 4,150,113 4/1979 Hoogendoorn et al. ........... .. 424/50 4,178,362 12/1979 Hoogendoorn et al. ....... .. 424/94 X 20 Claims, No Drawings 4,576,817 1 2 It would, of course, be advantageous to provide ab ENZYMATIC BANDAGES AND PADS sorbent materials in the form of bandages, pads, strings and the like that would inhibit bacterial growth in body BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ?uids which are absorbed by or otherwise associated This invention relates to absorbent materials adapted with such absorbent materials or structures. for use in body contact applications and, more particu It is disclosed in the prior art that polymeric wound larly, to enzymatic absorbent materials such as ban dressings for burns may include antibacterial agents, dages and pads that produce a bacteriostatic effect upon antibiotics, antifungal agents, proteolytic enzymes as contact with body ?uids such as serum. well as local anesthetics, hormonal compounds and Absorbent materials in the form of bandages and pads lubricating and barrier chemicals. See, for example, have long been employed in body contact applications U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,158 (Schmitt, 1978) and U.S. Pat. where coverage and protection of a wound and absorp No. 4,226,232 (Spence, 1980). tion of its ?uids are desirable. Bandaging can serve to It is also disclosed in the prior art that enzymatic physically protect an open wound from the surrounding agents can be incorporated into oral products such as environment, which is often replete with harmful bac toothpaste and chewing gum for producing hydrogen teria, and to absorb ?uid materials such as pus, blood peroxide during oral use. and serum to thereby promote the healing of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,113 (Hoogendoom et al., 1979) wound. Accordingly, bandages are constructed of and U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,362 (Hoogendoom et al., 1979) strong, yet absorbent, materials such that retention of disclose, respectively, an enzymatic toothpaste and an extraneous ?uids can be accomplished without a con enzymatic chewable dentifrice containing glucose oxi commitant loss of strength. dase which acts on glucose present in saliva and tooth Absorbent materials such as woven ?bers, porous plaque to produce hydrogen peroxide. The patentees foam pads, absorbent membranes and solvent-based note that oral bacteria, through enzymes systems having porous elastomers have been utilized in the manufacture SH-GROUPS, effect glycolysis of food products con of bandages and pads. A wide of variety of raw materi taining sugars and point out that lactoperoxidase, which als have been employed in an attempt to obtain physi is present in saliva, provides the means for transferring cally occlusive structures that retain their strength oxygen from hydrogen peroxide to the oral bacteria when soaked with ?uid from an open or weeping resulting in the oxidation of the SH-containing enzymes wound or other body ?uid source. Materials such as into inactive disul?de enzymes. It is further disclosed cellulose and its derivatives (cellulosics), polyester, 30 that the dentifrice may be formulated with potassium nylon, polyacrylamide, collagen, polyurethane and pol thiocyanate. yvinyl alcohol have been fabricated into structures such U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,822 (Pellico et al., 1981) discloses as woven ?bers, foam pads, porous membranes, elasto an antiseptic dentifrice containing an oxidizable amino mers and multi-layered combinations of the aforemen acid substrate and an oxidoreductase enzyme speci?c to tioned structures. Regardless of the material used, all such substrate for producing hydrogen peroxide and bandages and pads employed in the protection of open ammonia upon oral application of the dentifrice, with wounds must satisfy the requirement of good absor pre-application stability being maintained by limiting bency in order to be effective. the quantity of any water present in the dentifrice. An absorbent material in contact with an open or SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION weeping wound will retain a substantial amount of In accordance with one aspect of this invention, there blood, blood serum, pus and a variety of wound exu is provided enzymatic absorbent material for body dates. Bandages are often constructed in such a way that moisture retained by the absorbent material in contact application containing, per gram of material, from about 1.0 to about 1,000 International Units of contact with the wound will transpire through the side 45 serum-activated oxidoreductase enzyme for producing of the bandage opposite to that of the source of the hydrogen peroxide upon contact of said material with ?uids, i.e., the open wound. Although structures such as serum. these tend to decrease the amount of moisture retained In accordance with a second aspect of this invention, by the absorbent material, other exudates such as white there is provided enzymatic absorbent ?ber for conver blood cells, bacteria, eletrolytes, and red blood cells are sion into enzymatic absorbent material that is adapted retained. These exudates accumulate as a function of the for body contact application, wherein the ?ber con amount of time an absorbent material is in contact with tains, per gram of ?ber, from about 1.0 to about 1,000 an open or weeping wound. International Units of serum-activated oxidoreductase As a result of the retention of such a wide variety of enzyme for producing hydrogen peroxide upon contact biological substances, a moist absorbent structure can with serum. become an effective breeding ground for potentially harmful bacteria. Such an absorbent structure in contact DETAILED DESCRIPTION with body ?uid of the type mentioned above can be The enzymatic absorbent materials of this invention characterized as a culture support medium that can give comprise ?uid absorbent structures that incorporate rise to a large number of potentially harmful bacterial serum-activated oxidoreductase enzyme for producing colonies in a relatively small volume. Since the accumu hydrogen peroxide upon contact with serum. Fluid lated bacteria and their ‘waste products remain in absorbent structures, in the form of bandages, pads, contact with the open or weeping wound, they can strips and the like, can be prepared from precursors and leach out of the absorbent structure and back to the by processes well-known in the art to provide appropri body. In this connection, symptoms classi?able as toxic 65 ate designs and con?gurations that are adapted for par shock syndrome have been associated with the use of ticular body contact applications. Structural precursors certain types of feminine hygiene tampons, i.e., inter such as woven ?bers, porous foam pads, absorbent nally disposed feminine hygiene absorbent pads. membranes and solvent-based porous elastomers can be 4,576,817 3 4 utilized in the manufacture of the ?uid absorbent struc Oxygen-accepting anions in serum include thiocya tures. Gauze bandaging alone or secured to adhesive nate, chloride and iodide ions which, in the presence of strip and feminine hygiene absorbent pads and tampons, hydrogen peroxide and peroxidase, are oxidized to as well as other externally and internally utilizable body hypothiocyante, hypochlorite and hypoiodite, respec contact devices having high absorbency characteristics, tively. can be advantageously utilized in the practice of this The enzymatic absorbent material described herein invention. may be augmented by additionally incorporating into The enzymatic absorbent material of this invention, the material supplementary ingredients as, for example, which incorporates oxidoreductase enzyme, is adapted (a) oxidizable substrate speci?c to the oxidoreductase to be used in body contact applications that encounter enzyme utilized in the material, and (b) oxidizable salt body ?uids. These ?uids, including blood and tissue such as the thiocyanate, chloride or iodide salt of so serum, contain oxidizable substrate and other ingredi dium, potassium, ammonium, calcium or magnesium or ents which undergo an enzymatic reaction in the pres mixtures of such salts. ence of oxidoreductase enzyme speci?c to the substrate The oxidizable substrate is generally present in the to produce hydrogen peroxide. oxidoreductase en enzymatic absorbent material in an amount from about zymes which can be utilized in the practice of this in 0.015 to about 0.6 millimole per gram of material and, vention and the corresponding oxidizable substrates in preferably, in an amount from about 0.025 to about 0.1 serum are set forth in the following table: millimole per gram of material.