Anecdotal and experimental observations of spontaneous debridement of wounds infested with blowfly larvae (maggots) coupled with the observation that these animals lack chewing mouth parts have suggested that an enzyme (or enzymes) with specific digestive activity against necrotic tissue is secreted. Local antibacterial treatment of burns prolongs eschar separation and, therefore, delays repair through skin grafting, up to 6 weeks postburn. No one of a variety of surgical or enzymatic debridement procedures is satisfactory. This investigator has previously demonstrated that the eschar consists of denatured collagen, held to the underlying healthy tissue by tough elastic fibers unaffected by burning. This project proposes to examine the blowfly larva secretions for enzymatic activity specifically directed against these surviving elastic fibers using in vitro techniques to analyse the digestion products resulting from incubation of eschar with larval extracts under a variety of conditions. That is, the project proposes to demonstrate that blowfly larvae extract is not only generally proteolytic, as is well known, but is specifically active against eschar and necrotic tissue, an activity not yet demonstrated for any agent. Development of an effective chemical debridement technique would effect large economies in management of burns, ulcerative, and traumatic wounds through reduction of hospitalization time, utilization of surgical facilities, and human suffering.