OWSD Early Career
2023
Mkhabela Vuyiswa
About the project
Her research project will design and develop a hydrogel from the natural polymer chitosan, cross-linked with aloe, to be used for the accelerated healing of chronic wounds. Increasing costs of health care and the continued threat of chronic illnesses make chronic wounds a substantial clinical, social, and economic challenge. Specialized wound dressings or surgically-performed skin grafts are expensive for patients in the developing world. Hydrogels are good candidates as alternatives for wound dressings as they are able to form a barrier from pathogens and they help promote the body’s wound healing response. This project will utilize locally available aloe species, abundant medicinal plants that have been used in Eswatini for many years for their immune-stimulating and wound-healing properties, to develop a hydrogel with an improved healing rate and lesser side effects.
Field of Specialization
Position
Senior Lecturer
About the institution
Full Member
Dr. Vuyiswa Jane Mkhabela
Membership since:
2023
Field of activity:
Other Memberships/Affiliations
Royal Society of Chemistry
Degrees:
2016
Doctorate
Chemical Sciences