How it Works
Jennifer Fiegel and her team of researchers at the Fiegel Lab are finding more effective methods to deliver antibiotics to burn wounds. Graduate fellow Riannon Smith has been testing the plume of hydrogel spray, trying to find the optimal nozzle with which this antibiotic hydrogel formulation is best applied to the wounds of burn victims.
The hydrogel formulation is liquid at cooler temperatures and becomes a gel at warmer temperatures, contributing to less patient pain due to the medicine being released over a longer period of time and not being applied with tools like Q-tips or applicators. The hydrogel also keeps wounds moist, allowing for less re-dressing of bandages.
Behind the Research
Jennifer Fiegel, PhD
Director, Fiegel Lab
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Email: jennifer-fiegel@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-5162
http://www.fiegellab.org
Jennifer Fiegel is an associate professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, with a secondary appointment in the College of Pharmacy. She directs the Fiegel Lab, a multidisciplinary research program focused on designing therapeutic drug delivery systems for the treatment and prevention of infections of the lungs and skin, and the development of tools to evaluate particle interactions in biological environments.
Professor Fiegel's work in aerosol biointeractions is applied to both environmental aerosols and inhalable drug delivery systems. Prior to joining the faculty she completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University in the area of medical aerosols.