Silver Nanoparticles Used in Iran-Made Antibacterial Insoles Proper for Diabetic Patients

“We managed to achieve a technology to use silver nanoparticles to prevent the growth of bacteria in shoes,” said Alireza Mosayyebi, the director of Papia Teb company's research and development (R&D) department.

“Development of such antibacterial insoles is highly important for the diabetic patients because if they have foot ulcers and use ordinary soles, the accumulation of bacteria in the wound area is inevitable and causes infection, which is a matter of risk,” he added.

"We did two things for production of these special insoles; first, we used nanofabrics in the structure of insoles; second, we manufactured a device which can spray nanoparticles on insoles and then, by applying heat, nanoparticles are fixed on the insole. As the last step, we sprayed the deodorizing solution on the product,” Mosayyebi said.

In a relevant development late last year, a knowledge-based company in Iran had also succeeded in manufacturing insoles and shoes proper for diabetic patients to prevent foot ulcers.

“The occurrence of diabetic foot ulcers will be avoided by designing and producing medical insoles and shoes suitable for diabetics,” Amir Qiami Raad, the managing director of the knowledge-based ‘Salamat Faraz Tabriz’ company, told ANA.

“Diabetic foot ulcer is any wound that occurs as a direct result of diabetes or its complications in the patient's foot. It is an open wound on the foot of people with diabetes and is often seen on the sole of the foot,” he added.

Noting that the foot ulcer occurs in approximately 15 percent of people with diabetes, Qiami Raad said that 6% of these people are hospitalized due to infection or other complications related to the wounds.

“The risk of foot ulcer and amputation increases with age and the duration of diabetes. The presence of various diabetic wounds in the foot is called diabetic foot syndrome. The problems that occur in the feet of people with diabetes are caused by peripheral nerve disorders and decreased blood flow in the body, which is caused by diabetes; therefore, it is very important to choose the right shoes for these people, the shoes should be long and wide enough but not too loose either,” he said.

Qiami Raad explained that in the special shoe designed for the diabetics, the sole consists of special foams with different materials and densities that stick together, adding that the two upper layers that have honeycomb cuts have countless points that can be off-loaded and can be emptied by marking the wound on the foot.

“In the front part of the shoe, there is also a guard that can be installed to prevent the toes from touching different objects. The shoe does not create any problem in blood circulation in the leg and it is not loose and the offload can be done easily by the person himself/herself and there is no need to go to different clinics,” he said.

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