Collagen film for burn wound dressings reconstituted from animal intestines.

Collagen was isolated and purified from sheep intestines and cast into a film. The collagen film was cross-linked with ultraviolet light and reinforced by imbedding a nylon mesh. The collagen membrane was evaluated as a wound dressing for second- and third-degree burns in rats. Histopathological studies of the burns with and without the collagen dressings were made. The study showed the burn wounds dressed with collagen membrane exhibited rapid epithelialization with little inflammatory change and dense fibrous tissue ingrowth in the subdermal layers.