Technology
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Plant-based dressing stops wound infection early
Technology.org··28 Jul
Researchers at the University of Bath created a two sided wound dressing from plant based polymers that delivers antibiotics directly to a wound while a water repellent outer layer maintains a protected healing environment. The dressing reaches effective antibiotic concentrations within four hours, reducing biofilm formation by more than 90 percent before infection takes hold.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Anyone who has dealt with a slow healing or infected wound could eventually benefit from dressings that fight infection early.
- The research points toward treatments relying less on broad antibiotics, relevant as antibiotic resistance grows worldwide.
- Patients and caregivers may see more sustainable, plant based medical materials replacing petroleum based ones in coming years.
What's Happening
- University of Bath researchers created a two sided wound dressing from plant based polymers that delivers antibiotics directly to a wound.
- The dressing reaches effective antibiotic levels within four hours, reducing biofilm formation by more than 90 percent.
- The findings were published in the journal Bioactive Materials with collaborators from Bristol and Newcastle universities.
Two Carbon Atoms Apart, Worlds Apart in Function
- Wound infections cost Britain's National Health Service billions of pounds a year because bacteria form biofilm within hours.
- The two polymer layers differ chemically by only two carbon atoms, yet spinning them into fine fibres produces very different behaviours.
- The material showed no toxicity to human skin cells in lab tests, but researchers say clinical testing is still required.
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