Researchers in China have invented a smart bandage that kills bacteria and heals wounds while visually showing how it’s doing it.
The bandage, that is green in color, turns yellow if it detects a bacterial infection, at which point it releases an in-built antibiotic to treat the bacteria. However, if it detects a strain of drug resistant bacteria that typically cannot be treated by traditional antibiotics, it turns red. Once red, researchers can shine a light on the bandage that releases oxygen and ultimately kills or weakens the bacteria. This team of researchers showed that mice infected with drug resistant bacteria were able to heal with very quickly using this bandage.
According to WHO, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, and sensing and treating an infection early on could not only make patients’ recovery a lot quicker but also possibly curb the growth of antibiotic resistant microbes.
Read the full paper Colorimetric Band-aids for Point-of-Care Sensing and Treating Bacterial Infection for detailed information on this smart bandage.
Source: EurekAlert!