Silicone gel including antimicrobial agent.

Silicone gel sheets containing Ofloxacin (OFLX), that provide a continual drug delivery system from a wound dressing to the wound so as to prevent infection and to promote healing, are described. It was found that silicone gel sheets without added medication did not inhibit microbial growth but that gel sheets containing 0.02% and 0.2% of OFLX had a positive antimicrobial effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a dose-dependent fashion in vitro. Further, this antimicrobial efficacy was greatly increased in a silicone gel sheet that contained 0.02% of OFLX and an additional 10% of silicone oil. In animal experiments, a silicone gel sheet containing OFLX prevented microbiol growth and promoted rapid epithelialisation in wounds to which Staphylococcus aureus had been applied, whereas wounds covered only with OpSite all resulted in continued infection.