Smith+Nephew Acticoat Flex 7 Silver Contact Layer — Nanocrystalline Silver, Single Knitted Layer, 7-Day Wear, 6 Sizes

A single layer of knitted polyester coated with nanocrystalline silver — nothing more. Kills bacteria in 30 minutes. Sustains antimicrobial activity for 7 days. Stretches with the body. Passes exudate through to a secondary dressing. Compatible with NPWT for up to 7 days. The most conformable silver contact layer in the Acticoat line. Smith+Nephew Acticoat Flex 7 is a low-adherent, highly conformable antimicrobial barrier dressing built on a single layer of knitted polyester fabric uniformly coated with nanocrystalline silver (Ag⁰) — pure metallic silver clusters applied at 0.84–2.01 mg/cm² across the dressing surface. The nanocrystalline silver structure provides a high surface area for silver ion release: as wound moisture contacts the dressing, silver ions (Ag⁺) are released from the Ag⁰ clusters into the wound environment at concentrations sufficient to kill a broad spectrum of bacteria within 30 minutes, with sustained bactericidal activity maintained throughout the 7-day wear period. The knitted polyester substrate — a single flexible layer rather than the multi-layer laminate of the standard Acticoat 7 — gives Acticoat Flex 7 stretch properties in all directions, allowing the dressing to move with the patient and conform intimately to irregular wound topography without lifting, wrinkling, or restricting movement. Exudate passes through the open-weave knitted structure into a secondary absorbent dressing. Available in 6 sizes including a 1" x 24" rope format for tunneling and cavity wounds.

✔ Nanocrystalline Silver (Ag⁰) — High Surface Area for Sustained Ion Release    ✔ Kills in 30 Minutes — Sustained 7-Day Bactericidal Activity    ✔ Single Knitted Layer — Maximum Conformability & Stretch    ✔ Exudate Passes Through — No Retention at Wound Surface    ✔ NPWT Compatible — Up to 7 Days Under Negative Pressure    ✔ Low Adherent — Minimal Trauma on Removal    ✔ 6 Sizes Including 1" × 24" Rope

Product Details & Available Sizes

Indicated For — Wound Types

• Partial and full thickness wounds with infection or elevated infection risk
• First and second degree burns — including extensive burn surface area (large format sizes 8"x16", 16"x16")
• Covering of skin grafts — including meshed grafts where the open knitted structure conforms to the graft surface
• Surgical sites — post-operative wounds with infection risk
• Venous leg ulcers
• Pressure ulcers
• Diabetic foot ulcers
• Wounds being managed with NPWT — Acticoat Flex 7 is compatible as a wound contact layer under negative pressure wound therapy for up to 7 days
• Tunneling wounds and sinus tracts — use 1" x 24" rope format
• Infected wounds — as part of a comprehensive clinical treatment protocol
• Wounds with elevated bioburden or at high risk of bacterial colonization

Contraindications and precautions:

• Do not use on patients with known sensitivity to silver
• Remove from the anatomical field being imaged before MRI — if the wound is outside the image field, the dressing may remain in place
• Remove before radiation therapy — a new dressing may be applied after treatment
• Not compatible with oil-based products such as petrolatum — do not use concurrently
• Avoid contact with electrodes or conductive gels during electronic measurements (EEG, ECG)
• Not intended as sole treatment for clinically infected wounds — use as part of a clinical management protocol
• Transient stinging may occur on application — minimize by following application instructions; discontinue if continuous pain persists
• Not for use on third-degree burns
• Use in premature infants (under 37 weeks gestation) only when clinical benefit outweighs potential risks
• Not for external use only — do not apply to exposed internal organs

Nanocrystalline Silver — Why the Form of Silver Matters

All silver wound dressings deliver antimicrobial protection through silver ions (Ag⁺) — the biologically active form of silver that disrupts bacterial cell membranes, interferes with electron transport chains, and generates reactive oxygen species that are toxic to bacteria. But the source and structure of the silver determines how quickly and how consistently those ions are delivered.

Earlier silver dressings used silver compounds — silver sulfadiazine, silver chloride, silver sulfate — that release ions through chemical dissolution. These compounds can deliver a rapid initial burst of ions but often deplete relatively quickly as the compound dissolves and the available silver reservoir diminishes. Nanocrystalline silver takes a different approach: pure elemental silver (Ag⁰) is deposited onto the dressing surface as extremely small clusters — nanocrystals — that have an enormous surface area-to-mass ratio compared to bulk silver or silver compound particles. This high surface area is the key: more silver surface is exposed to wound moisture, providing more sites for ion release across the entire wear period rather than in a front-loaded burst.

The Ag⁰ → Ag⁺ oxidation occurs gradually and consistently as wound moisture contacts the silver clusters. Smith+Nephew's in vitro data demonstrates that Acticoat Flex 7 delivers sufficient silver ion concentration to remain bactericidal — not just bacteriostatic — throughout the 7-day wear period, maintaining effective kill rather than simply inhibiting growth. The dressing has been shown to deliver log-reduction kills against Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and other common wound pathogens, with bactericidal activity measurable at the 30-minute mark and sustained through day 7 in vitro testing.

• Nanocrystalline Ag⁰ clusters — high surface area for consistent, sustained ion release
• Bactericidal (kills) not just bacteriostatic (inhibits) — documented log-reduction kill in vitro
• 30-minute onset — rapid protection from first contact with wound moisture
• 7-day sustained activity — sufficient silver concentration maintained throughout wear period
• Broad spectrum — MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and other wound-relevant gram-positive, gram-negative, and yeast pathogens
• 0.84–2.01 mg/cm² silver content — dressing color may vary between lots; variation does not affect performance

Why a Single Knitted Layer — The Flex Difference

The standard Acticoat 7 (not Flex) is a multi-layer laminate — a polyethylene mesh outer layer, an absorbent rayon/polyester core, and an inner mesh — all bonded together as a composite structure. This construction manages both antimicrobial action and some degree of fluid absorption within the dressing itself, but the multi-layer laminate is dimensionally stable and resists conforming to irregular wound surfaces or stretching with body movement.

Acticoat Flex 7 strips the construction down to a single layer: just the knitted polyester coated with nanocrystalline silver. The knitted structure — unlike woven or laminated materials — has inherent stretch and bi-directional flexibility. The loops of the knit allow the fabric to extend in all directions without structural distortion, meaning the dressing can conform to concave wound surfaces, irregular wound topography, circumferential wound sites, and high-motion anatomical locations without wrinkling, bridging, or lifting. When the patient moves, the dressing stretches with them — maintaining wound contact throughout the full range of motion of the affected limb or body part.

The open-weave knitted structure also means Acticoat Flex 7 does not retain exudate within the dressing body. Wound fluid passes through the mesh openings and is absorbed by the secondary dressing placed above. This transfer-layer architecture keeps the wound surface neither desiccated nor over-saturated — the secondary dressing provides the fluid management capacity appropriate to the drainage level, selected independently by the clinician.

• Single knitted polyester layer — maximum conformability; adapts to wound contours standard flat dressings bridge over
• Bi-directional stretch — apply with stretch direction along the limb for best conformity
• Moves with the patient — dressing maintains wound contact during limb movement and repositioning
• Open-weave structure — exudate transfers through to secondary; no retention at wound surface
• No fluid pooling under the dressing — reduces maceration risk at wound surface and periwound skin
• Removes in one piece — low-adherent coating lifts cleanly without fragmenting or leaving residue
• Cut to size — may be trimmed to any shape with sterile scissors while retaining full antimicrobial properties

NPWT Compatibility — Using Acticoat Flex 7 Under Negative Pressure

Acticoat Flex 7 is specifically validated as a wound contact layer under negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for up to 7 days — matching its standard wear time. This makes it one of the few silver dressings with formal NPWT compatibility data rather than incidental use. In NPWT applications, Acticoat Flex 7 is placed directly on the wound bed as the wound contact layer before the NPWT foam filler is applied. The nanocrystalline silver provides continuous antimicrobial protection at the wound surface throughout the NPWT treatment period, addressing the elevated infection risk associated with wounds requiring NPWT — which are typically complex, heavily colonized, or surgically debrided wounds at high infection risk. The open-weave knitted structure allows wound fluid to move freely under negative pressure into the NPWT foam filler without impediment, maintaining the fluid transmission that is essential for effective NPWT therapy.

Acticoat Flex 7 vs. Acticoat Flex 3 — Choosing the Right Wear Time

Acticoat Flex 7 and Acticoat Flex 3 share the same nanocrystalline silver knitted polyester construction and the same antimicrobial mechanism. The single clinical difference is wear time — Flex 3 for up to 3 days, Flex 7 for up to 7 days — and the silver content is calibrated accordingly. The choice between them is driven entirely by clinical preference for change frequency and wound assessment interval:

• Acticoat Flex 7 (this product): Change every 7 days. For wounds with stable infection risk and predictable drainage where the 7-day interval is clinically appropriate — reducing nursing visits, reducing patient dressing change burden, and maximizing wear time between changes. Best choice for most chronic wound presentations and stable burn management.
• Acticoat Flex 3: Change every 3 days. For wounds that require more frequent inspection — rapidly changing infection status, unstable drainage, early post-operative wounds, or any clinical situation where the clinician wants more frequent wound assessment windows without removing silver antimicrobial protection between assessments.

Choosing the Right Size

• 66800403 — 2" x 2": Small wounds, vascular access sites, small pressure injuries, minimal wounds where a compact dressing footprint is appropriate
• 66800405 — 4" x 5": Standard size for most wound presentations — typical pressure ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, venous ulcers, surgical wounds, and burn sites of average dimension; the most commonly used Flex 7 size
• 66800427 — 6" x 6": Larger wounds requiring broader antimicrobial contact coverage — larger pressure injuries, wider burn surfaces, extensive surgical sites
• 66800407 — 8" x 16": Large-format for extensive wounds — partial-thickness burns across a limb, large skin graft coverage areas, NPWT wound beds requiring broad-contact silver protection
• 66800408 — 16" x 16": Maximum format — for the most extensive wound surfaces, burn patients with large body surface area involvement, or any wound requiring maximum single-dressing coverage; the large surface area makes this the most economical choice for extensive wound beds
• 66800544 — 1" x 24" Rope: For tunneling wounds, sinus tracts, and deep cavity wounds where a flat pad cannot access the wound depth; loosely packed into the wound channel with a retrieval tail left outside; the rope format delivers silver antimicrobial protection through the full depth of the tunnel

Not sure which size is right? Call 1-866-218-0902 — Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm EST

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Questions about Acticoat Flex 7 or any of our antimicrobial wound dressings? Call 1-866-218-0902 — our team is ready to help.