Bandages, even though seems quite simple by itself, act as a protective layer on any wounds and shields the same from all the infections in the air while holding the required medicine on spot. It has been acting as a preventive from bacterial infection. Yet, there are chances that before the bandage is secured in its place some bacteria may have already found its way to the wound. Therefore, the recent discovery of medical science introduces a new kind of bandages that are capable of sucking out any bacteria present in the wound.
The said technology is being developed in the Australian “Swinburne University of Technology” and yet remains to be “tested on human skin”. So far, the specimens were tried out “on tissue-engineered skin models”, whereby the results are published in Applied Materials & Interfaces and in Biointerfaces. The particular species of bacteria involved in this investigation are named “Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus”. In fact, both have a reputation of leading to “chronic wound infection”.
The matrix of the bandage consists of mesh like “polymer filaments”, where every strand of it is finely shaped so as to be “100 times thinner than a human hair”. The manufacturing process involves the technique “electrospinning” wherein the material is squeezed out through “an electrified nozzle”. The bacteria of S. Aureus are often “found on the skin”. Therefore, the first trial was made on a film of the said bacteria. The results showed that S. Aureus began to “quickly” attach themselves to the fine fibres.
Following this observation, the researchers went forward to examine the capacity of S. aureus to bind themselves to various “widths of strand”. It has been found that the said bacteria were “less successful” in clinging to the strand that had a width “smaller than the individual S. aureus cells themselves”. Consequently, during the second step of the research the scientists applied a different compound coating on the strand, whereby they observed that another bacterium, namely E. Coli, successfully adhered to the allylamine coated fibres. However, when the strand had an acrylic coat on them, the E. Coli bacteria “did not attach to fibers”.
With that the research reached its final stage, wherein the bandages were tested on skin models. This attempt was made in collaboration with “the University of Sheffield in the U.K.”. The result of the last stage still remains to be published, though the scientists are quite sure that “the bandage could function well on living tissue”.
Nevertheless, human bodies are normally equipped to fight these common found bacteria on our skin, therefore, at first glance this new bandage technology may appear “a bit unnecessary” especially for slight starches and burns. However, the patients who are suffering from any kind of “compromised immune systems”, for example people with “diabetes, AIDS, cancer or severe burns”, the new technology bandage will play the role of “desirable” caution guard.
An author of the research study, Martina Abrigo stated:
“For most people, wounds heal quickly. But for some people, the repair process gets stuck, and so wounds take much longer to heal. This makes them vulnerable to infection.
“We hope this work will lead to smart wound dressings that could prevent infections. Doctors could put a nanomesh dressing on a wound and simply peel it off to get rid of the germs.”
References:
http://www.iflscience.com
The said technology is being developed in the Australian “Swinburne University of Technology” and yet remains to be “tested on human skin”. So far, the specimens were tried out “on tissue-engineered skin models”, whereby the results are published in Applied Materials & Interfaces and in Biointerfaces. The particular species of bacteria involved in this investigation are named “Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus”. In fact, both have a reputation of leading to “chronic wound infection”.
The matrix of the bandage consists of mesh like “polymer filaments”, where every strand of it is finely shaped so as to be “100 times thinner than a human hair”. The manufacturing process involves the technique “electrospinning” wherein the material is squeezed out through “an electrified nozzle”. The bacteria of S. Aureus are often “found on the skin”. Therefore, the first trial was made on a film of the said bacteria. The results showed that S. Aureus began to “quickly” attach themselves to the fine fibres.
Following this observation, the researchers went forward to examine the capacity of S. aureus to bind themselves to various “widths of strand”. It has been found that the said bacteria were “less successful” in clinging to the strand that had a width “smaller than the individual S. aureus cells themselves”. Consequently, during the second step of the research the scientists applied a different compound coating on the strand, whereby they observed that another bacterium, namely E. Coli, successfully adhered to the allylamine coated fibres. However, when the strand had an acrylic coat on them, the E. Coli bacteria “did not attach to fibers”.
With that the research reached its final stage, wherein the bandages were tested on skin models. This attempt was made in collaboration with “the University of Sheffield in the U.K.”. The result of the last stage still remains to be published, though the scientists are quite sure that “the bandage could function well on living tissue”.
Nevertheless, human bodies are normally equipped to fight these common found bacteria on our skin, therefore, at first glance this new bandage technology may appear “a bit unnecessary” especially for slight starches and burns. However, the patients who are suffering from any kind of “compromised immune systems”, for example people with “diabetes, AIDS, cancer or severe burns”, the new technology bandage will play the role of “desirable” caution guard.
An author of the research study, Martina Abrigo stated:
“For most people, wounds heal quickly. But for some people, the repair process gets stuck, and so wounds take much longer to heal. This makes them vulnerable to infection.
“We hope this work will lead to smart wound dressings that could prevent infections. Doctors could put a nanomesh dressing on a wound and simply peel it off to get rid of the germs.”
References:
http://www.iflscience.com