metabolites capable of stopping a notoriously aggressive pathogen
En un laboratorio de San Juan, Argentina, un equipo de la UCCuyo ha desarrollado hidrogeles a base de colágeno natural y postbióticos bacterianos capaces de tratar quemaduras desde adentro hacia afuera, hablando el idioma que el cuerpo ya comprende. Liderado por el Dr. Diego Kassuha, el proyecto responde a una doble urgencia histórica: la infección y la cicatrización, dos enemigos que los apósitos sintéticos convencionales rara vez enfrentan juntos. En una provincia frecuentemente relegada en el mapa científico nacional, este trabajo silencioso recuerda que la innovación más profunda no siempre imita a la naturaleza, sino que la escucha.
- Las quemaduras graves siguen siendo una de las heridas más difíciles de tratar: los apósitos sintéticos dominantes no logran combinar biocompatibilidad, hidratación y control de infecciones al mismo tiempo.
- El equipo de Kassuha rompió ese límite combinando colágeno tipo I extraído de tendones de rata con postbióticos de bacterias Lactobacillus, creando un material que el cuerpo reconoce y que además detiene patógenos agresivos como Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- El proceso de fabricación es de alta complejidad: electrospinning para convertir el colágeno en nanofibras, validación por microscopía electrónica y espectroscopía, y estabilización con carbómero para lograr un gel aplicable clínicamente.
- El desarrollo aún está en etapa preclínica y deberá superar la aprobación de la autoridad sanitaria provincial y luego de ANMAT antes de llegar a hospitales argentinos.
- La visión a largo plazo apunta a la impresión 3D de apósitos personalizados adaptados a la forma exacta de cada herida, transformando el tratamiento de quemaduras en medicina de precisión.
En un laboratorio de San Juan, investigadores de la UCCuyo han creado hidrogeles capaces de tratar quemaduras utilizando materiales que el propio cuerpo reconoce: colágeno tipo I, ácido hialurónico y postbióticos derivados de bacterias Lactobacillus. El Dr. Diego Kassuha lidera el equipo junto a colegas del CONICET y colaboradores internacionales, con parte del trabajo anclado en la tesis doctoral de Ana Paula Tapia Costa en ciencias biomédicas.
A diferencia de los tratamientos comerciales basados en derivados petroquímicos, estos hidrogeles parten de biopolímeros naturales. El colágeno se extrae de tendones de rata, se purifica y se transforma en nanofibras mediante electrospinning, formando una estructura microscópica que retiene humedad y medicación. Para heridas superficiales, se incorporan postbióticos con propiedades antibacterianas, antiinflamatorias y antioxidantes; para quemaduras profundas, se suma ciprofloxacino como refuerzo ante infecciones de alto riesgo.
El proceso es meticuloso y multidisciplinario. Cada formulación se evalúa y ajusta antes de avanzar. Actualmente los hidrogeles están en etapa preclínica: funcionan en el laboratorio, pero aún deben obtener aprobación de la autoridad sanitaria de San Juan y luego de ANMAT para llegar a los hospitales.
Más allá de los plazos regulatorios, el equipo ya proyecta el siguiente paso: fabricar apósitos a medida mediante impresión 3D, adaptados a la geometría exacta de cada herida. Lo que comenzó como una respuesta a un problema clínico concreto se convierte, poco a poco, en una nueva forma de entender la medicina regenerativa: no contra la biología, sino con ella.
In a laboratory in San Juan, Argentina, a team of researchers has engineered something that sounds like science fiction but works like biology: a gel made from collagen and the metabolic byproducts of bacteria, designed to heal burns by speaking the body's own language.
Dr. Diego Kassuha leads the effort at UCCuyo, working alongside colleagues from CONICET, Argentina's national research council. The innovation sits at the intersection of two problems: burns need to heal, and infections kill. Most synthetic dressings solve one or the other. This team wanted both.
The foundation is natural. Unlike commercial burn treatments built from petroleum derivatives and laboratory chemistry, Kassuha's hydrogels start with collagen type I and hyaluronic acid—materials the human body already knows how to process. The collagen comes from rat tail tendons, extracted and validated through electron microscopy and spectroscopy to confirm it matches the purity of commercial-grade collagen. Once purified, it gets transformed into nanofibrous threads through electrospinning, creating a microscopic scaffold that holds moisture and medication without degrading the original material.
But the real leap is what happens next. For shallow wounds, the team adds postbiotics—metabolic compounds produced by Lactobacillus bacteria. These are not the bacteria themselves, but what they leave behind: molecules with proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. Kassuha's team identified specific postbiotic metabolites capable of stopping Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a notoriously aggressive pathogen that colonizes damaged skin. For deeper burns, where infection risk becomes life-threatening, they supplement the collagen with ciprofloxacin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic that handles the worst-case scenarios.
The manufacturing process is meticulous. After extracting and validating the collagen, researchers use carbomer as a stabilizing agent to transform the nanofiber matrix into an actual gel—something that can be applied to skin without falling apart. Each formulation gets tested, evaluated, and refined. The work is collaborative: Martín Godoy, Julieta Fuentes Mallea, Ana Paula Tapia Costa, and Micaela Flores form the core research team, supported by advanced students Rocío Montilla and Bautista Sánchez, with international input from Pamela Mancha Agresti at Brazil's Federal University of Minas Gerais. Much of this research anchors Ana Paula Tapia Costa's doctoral thesis in biomedical sciences at UCCuyo.
Right now, the hydrogels exist in the preclinical stage—proven in the lab, not yet in hospitals. Kassuha is realistic about what comes next. Moving from laboratory scale to manufacturing requires navigating Argentina's regulatory landscape: first, approval from San Juan's public health authority, then clearance from ANMAT, the national medicines and medical technology administration. These are not quick processes.
But the team is already thinking beyond regulatory approval. The long-term vision involves 3D printing—manufacturing custom-fitted dressings tailored to the exact contours of each patient's wound or burn. Instead of one-size-fits-all bandages, personalized medicine at the point of care.
What makes this work matter extends beyond the burns themselves. It represents a different approach to biomedical innovation: using what nature already produces, understanding how the body recognizes and uses it, and building on that foundation rather than replacing it. In a province often overlooked in Argentina's scientific landscape, a small team has created something that could change how burn wounds heal.
Notable Quotes
The truly innovative aspect is the use of postbiotics. We identified metabolites capable of stopping and destroying Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an extremely aggressive pathogen common in skin infections.— Dr. Diego Kassuha
Our future vision is to manufacture these hydrogels and dressings using 3D printing, allowing us to design patches tailored to the exact dimensions of each patient's wound or burn.— Dr. Diego Kassuha
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why start with rat tail tendon? That seems oddly specific.
It's a reliable source of pure collagen type I. They needed something they could extract cleanly, validate against commercial standards, and reproduce consistently. Rat tendons give them that. It's not glamorous, but it works.
And the postbiotics—those are bacteria waste products, essentially?
Metabolites, technically. What bacteria produce and leave behind when they metabolize food. The key insight is that these compounds have antimicrobial properties without introducing living organisms into a wound. You get the benefit without the risk of the bacteria itself causing problems.
So for a bad burn, they'd use the antibiotic version instead?
Right. Ciprofloxacin for deep second-degree burns where infection is the immediate threat. The postbiotic version is for surface wounds where you want healing support without aggressive pharmaceuticals. It's two tools for two different problems.
How far away is this from actual patients?
Still in preclinical testing. The hard part isn't the science anymore—it's the regulatory path. They need government approval before any hospital can use it. That takes years, not months.
And the 3D printing idea—is that realistic?
It's the right direction. Imagine a burn that's irregular, deep in some spots and shallow in others. A custom-printed dressing could match that topography exactly. But that's years out. First they have to get the basic version approved and manufactured at scale.