11 April 2024

Linn Berglund is the recipient of the Young Researcher's Award from the Gunnar Sundblad Research Foundation 2024.
Praised for research on future wound dressings from forest raw materials
Linn Berglund, researcher at Luleå University of Technology, is awarded SEK 400,000 from the Gunnar Sundblad Research Foundation through the Young Researcher's Award. Using networks of nanofibers from forest raw materials, she takes on a major challenge - to create a functional and sustainable material that can be used as a dressing for hard-to-heal wounds.
Difficult-to-heal wounds, such as bedsores, pressure ulcers and burns, pose major problems for the person affected, and for the health care system, difficult-to-heal wounds also pose significant challenges in terms of resource needs and treatment costs.
Using nanofibers, the smallest components of wood, Linn Berglund, Senior Lecturer in Wood and Bionanocomposites at Luleå University of Technology, wants to develop a new wound dressing. In the research project she will carry out with the help of the scholarship from the Gunnar Sundblad Research Foundation, she is based on nanocellulose extracted from sawdust and wood raw material.
- "Through the grant, I will investigate and develop the material based on its function together with an environmental perspective. We have developed promising material properties, but just because we start with something bio-based, it does not automatically mean that it will be an environmentally friendly product in the end, but it is something we need to assess throughout the value chain, says Linn Berglund.
Materials that love water
The material that Linn Berglund helped to develop has several advantages that are suitable for helping to promote wound healing.
- There are three very specific properties that we utilize in the material. The nanocellulose's natural ability to absorb a lot of liquid as it is a material that loves water. In many other applications, the absorption capacity can be a challenge, but when it comes to wound care, it can be used to an advantage. In addition, these materials have the ability to form strong networks, which can be used to produce mechanically stable structures. The contribution of hemicellulose to the networks is also very interesting to study further. It is also a transparent material, which creates unique opportunities, explains Linn Berglund.
For example, for burns, it is particularly important that the environment is kept moist but also that the fluid can be transported away from the wound itself to promote healing.
- Because the material is transparent, wound healing can be monitored without having to open the dressing to see how the wound is healing. In this way, unnecessary dressing changes can be avoided," says Linn Berglund.
Using atomic force microscopy and rheology
An important condition for the research is to be able to study the material in a wet and swollen state. In order to do this, Linn Berglund will conduct studies together with SLU using atomic force microscopy - which makes it possible to study the material at very close range.
- "Through atomic force microscopy, we will be able to study the material at the nanoscale in a swollen state to gain a better understanding of the material," explains Linn Berglund.
The project will also use a new equipment for rheology measurements at Luleå University of Technology. Here, the function of the developed networks and the role of hemicellulose in the material properties will be studied.
To systematically map the environmental footprint of the future material, Linn Berglund will use life cycle analysis as a tool to assess the environmental impact throughout the product's life cycle.
- 'We researchers are very used to putting numbers and comparing materials based on their mechanical properties, for example. But if we want to confirm that an innovation is actually sustainable, we also need to assess its environmental impact during its development. When we gain such knowledge, we can also optimize the choice of materials and processes to design future products based on both function and a sustainability perspective, says Linn Berglund.
- "Through her research, Linn Berglund contributes to new opportunities for more future and sustainable products from the forest industry," says Torgny Persson, Director of Research and Innovation at the Swedish Forest Industries Federation and Chairman of the Gunnar Sundblad Research Foundation.
The jury's motivation:
Linn Berglund is awarded the Young Researcher's Award of SEK 400,000 from the Gunnar Sundblad Research Foundation. She is awarded the prize for her research on a future wound dressing from forest raw material that includes both mapping and understanding of the material's function and environmental impact. The research project shows potential to contribute to solving an important societal challenge and may create future opportunities for new products from the forest industry.
Contact
Linn Berglund
- Senior Lecturer
- 0920-493381
- linn.berglund@ltu.se
- Linn Berglund
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