A glowing antibacterial bandage will indicate an infected wound

A special anti-bacterial glowing bandage is made at RMIT University to speed up the healing process in two ways. It takes care to kill harmful bacteria on an ongoing basis, reducing inflammation and eliminating the need to change the dressing regularly without a reason.

Thanks to its fluorescence, the new antibacterial bandage improves the healing process in two ways

The healing process of advanced (e.g. diabetic ulcer) or extensive wounds requires frequent observation of what is happening under the dressing in order to detect possible infection earlier. However, changing the dressing and removing it from the wound is often associated with disrupting the healing process in the same way as tearing a scab off a wound.

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However, such juggling with dressings is often required nowadays, especially in the event of serious damage to health. In specific cases, the infection can develop unexpectedly and quickly, not only destroying the entire work of our body in terms of “repair”, but also posing a risk to health and even life. Solution? Viewing a wound for infection … without peeking at it.

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This is possible thanks to the newly developed antibacterial glowing bandage with magnesium hydroxide nano-layers on cotton nano-fibers. This one helps with the healing process by killing harmful bacteria and reducing inflammation. You can read more about it in the journal’s publication ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Additionally, when the wound site is changed from slightly acidic to alkaline (infection develops), magnesium hydroxide will react to it, revealing fluorescence under the influence of ultraviolet light. This means that doctors can simply shine a UV light on the bandage instead of taking it off.

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According to one researcher, the manufacturing process for this new type of bandage can easily be extended to commercial production, and these can be “up to 20 times cheaper” than other antibacterial dressings that contain more expensive silver nanoparticles. Especially since his magnesium hydroxide bandage remains effective for up to seven days for bactericidal potential.

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