Red Maple LifeSciences offers EnzyLock, a smart hydrogel dressing that visibly changes color to detect bacterial infection in chronic wounds and releases antimicrobial agents only when pathogens are present.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Chronic wound infections often go undetected for days due to slow culture turnaround, leading to delayed treatment, antibiotic overuse, and high rates of complications such as amputations and costly hospitalizations.
Solution
Red Maple LifeSciences’ EnzyLock platform is a smart hydrogel dressing that provides real‑time bacterial detection through a visible color change and releases antimicrobial agents only when pathogens are present. The hydrogel integrates seamlessly into existing wound‑care workflows, allowing clinicians to identify infection early and apply targeted therapy at the point of care. By coupling detection and treatment, EnzyLock reduces unnecessary antibiotic exposure and helps prevent infection‑related complications, ultimately lowering overall treatment costs.
Target Audience
Primary customers are clinicians and wound‑care specialists managing chronic and high‑risk wounds, such as podiatrists, vascular surgeons, and hospital wound‑care teams.
Features
- Bacteria‑responsive hydrogel that changes color visibly when infection is present, enabling immediate visual detection
- On‑demand release of antimicrobial agents triggered exclusively by bacterial presence, minimizing unnecessary drug use
- Designed for easy incorporation into standard wound‑care protocols without added procedural steps
- Provides continuous monitoring of the wound environment throughout the dressing’s wear time
- Scalable biomaterial formulation compatible with a range of wound types, including diabetic foot ulcers and other chronic wounds