Treatment of mucosal membranes
AssigneeNucryst Pharmaceuticals Corp.
InventorsRobert Edward Burrell, Antony George Naylor, Peter Howard Moxham
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to the use of one or more antimicrobial metals preferably selected from silver, gold, platinum, and palladium but most preferably silver, formed with atomic disorder, and preferably in a nanocrystalline form, for reducing inflammation or infection of the mucosal membrane. The antimicrobial metal may be formulated as, or used in the form of, a nanocrystalline coating of one or more antimicrobial or noble metals, a nanocrystalline powder of one or more antimicrobial or noble metals, or a liquid or solution containing dissolved species from a nanocrystalline powder or coating of one or more antimicrobial or noble metals.
Claims28
A method of reducing inflammation or infection of a mucosal membrane, comprising:
- contacting an inflamed or infected problem area of the mucosal membrane with a therapeutically effective amount of one or more antimicrobial metals in nanocrystalline form to provide a localized anti-inflammatory or antimicrobial effect, wherein the one or more antimicrobial metals are selected from the group consisting of silver, gold, platinum and palladium and characterized by sufficient atomic disorder so that the metal, in contact with an alcohol or water-based electrolyte, releases atoms, ions, molecules, or clusters of said metal on a sustainable basis and at a concentration sufficient to provide a localized anti-inflammatory or antimicrobial effect.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.