The silver release profile of antimicrobial wound dressings: standardizing in vitro evaluations

Despite the abundance of silver-containing dressings to treat chronic wound infections, there is no standard method to evaluate their silver release, making it difficult for cross-study comparisons. This is compounded by the use of water or saline to elute silver from such dressings, which gives different results and does not adequately reflect the composition of wound exudate. To mimic the release of silver from elemental and compound (ionic) silver-containing dressings in exudating wounds, we have developed a method using an artificial wound fluid medium.