PolyMem Silver, PolyMem Wic Silver®, PolyMem Wic Silver Rope, PolyMem Max® Silver® and Shapes by PolyMem® Silver® belong to an innovative class of adaptable wound care dressings called QuadraFoam.

QuadraFoam dressings effectively cleanse, fill, absorb, and moisten wounds throughout the healing continuum. PolyMem’s unique formulation of QuadraFoam combines these four key wound-healing capabilities like no other single wound dressing.

Silver has a long history of safe use as an antimicrobial in wound management. High purity small silver particle are uniformly distributed throughout and bound into the PolyMem formulated membrane for maximum surface area and effectiveness. Silver ions, which provide the antimicrobial action, are released from the surface of the silver particles when they come in contact with moisture. In tests for antimicrobial effectiveness using several in-vitro methods, PolyMem Silver dressings killed at least 99.9% of the entire population of each organism tested. The bacteria and fungi tested are representative of organisms found in clinical settings.

How PolyMem Silver Works

When you use PolyMem Silver on a wound, moisture and fluids in the wound bed are absorbed into the dressing, releasing silver ions, which protect the dressing from microbial contamination. In addition to silver, the PolyMem Silver membrane contains a clinically proven non-ionic, non-toxic, tissue friendly cleansing agent that helps loosen necrotic tissue, slough and other debris. The hydrophilic polyurethane membrane matrix, containing a starch co-polymer, draws fluid and debris from the wound bed and swells into a non-adherent gel while providing super absorbance of fluids. As the exudate is being absorbed, the membrane matrix expands to fill and conform to wounds.

Additionally, glycerol (also known as glycerin) help ensure non adherence to the wound bed so that the dressing or filler can be removed without disturbing the wound bed.

Glycerol also helps control odor while softening non-viable tissue. Except for the cavity filler, the membrane is also covered by a semi-permeable continuous film backing which is optimized for oxygen and moisture vapor permeability and as a barrier to liquids.

PolyMem Silver can be used instead of other silver containing dressings because the dressings support moist wound healing while providing a continuous silver reservoir.