DarkSeal: Dressing that heals

DarkSeal: Bioactive Wound Dressing for Chronic Wound Management

The Problem:

4 million Europeans suffer from chronic wounds (diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, pressure sores). 30–40% of chronic wounds become infected, leading to complications, amputation, and death. Existing dressings are largely passive—they merely manage symptoms but don't address the underlying pathophysiology: chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and impaired wound-healing mechanisms.

 Our solution: The DarkSeal

DarkSeal is a bioactive, biocompatible wound dressing based on green-synthesized polypyrrole (PPy)/polysaccharide copolymers that actively promote healing at the cellular level by reducing inflammation, neutralizing ROS, and exerting antimicrobial action

 Advantages:

✓ Green synthesis using natural biopolymers (cellulose, algae-derived materials)

✓ Low-cost, scalable, non-toxic - can be implemented in current products.

✓ No drug required → Regulatory classification as Medical Device Class IIb

✓ No added materials, nanoparticles, or post-processing steps required

✓ Highly versatile → technology applies to textiles, nanofibers, hydrogels, powders…  

✓ High potential for further development → intrinsically conductive polymer polypyrrole offering both therapeutic and diagnostic (sensoric) action → possible development of theranostic dressings

Technology :

Stage - TLR 4 + Preclinical testing in 2026

Patented - Czech patent CZ 310455 granted; PCT without objections; US & EU applications pending.

Initial development funded by the Czech Science Foundation project 24-11534S (up to 12/26)

 Peer-review results:

4 high-impact publications on this topic: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2025), International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2×, 2025), Carbohydrate Polymers (2024).

✓ 50-70 % faster healing than standard wound dressings

✓ >50% reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokine production

✓ >90% neutralization of ROS (reactive oxygen species / oxidative stress)

✓ Antimicrobial activity against S. aureus (A = 6.7)

Regulatory pathway: Without a drug payload, DarkSeal qualifies as a Class IIb medical device under MDR 745/2017—offering a shorter approval timeline and simpler commercialization than small-molecule drugs.

The team:

Biomaterials research group, Centre of Polymer Systems (CPS), Tomas Bata University

20 years in biomaterials development – expert in conductive polymers/biological interactions

Vertically integrated research – from materials design, synthesis, to biological testing using advanced in vitro techniques (in-house ex vivo models, bioreactors for dynamic conditions simulations, and more).

Head of the team: Prof. Petr Humpolíček, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator, Pro-rector, Tomas Bata University) – with an h-index of 31 and over 3,835 citations, Prof. Humpolíček has published 145+ peer-reviewed papers focused mainly on conductive polymers (polypyrrole, polyaniline) for tissue engineering, biocompatible innovative materials, and regenerative medicine, including electrically-responsive biomaterial scaffolds for wound healing, neural tissue engineering, and immune system modulation.

Mgr. Jan Vícha, Ph.D. (Lead Inventor, DarkSeal, H-index 23, 1586 citations) – Expert in materials chemistry, polysaccharide modification, and development of conductive polymer-based biomaterials. He has more than 10 years of experience in the field and discovered the technology on which the DarkSeal is based. He focuses on the development of wound dressings and drug delivery systems