New 'Smart' Bandage Can Suck Bacteria Out of Wounds

Researchers at Swinburne University of Technology, in Melborne, Australia, are in the process of developing nanofiber meshes that would be able to "suck" bacteria out of wounds, helping to speed up the healing process.

Martina Abrigo, a PhD candidate who received the university's Chancellor's Research Scholarship to undertake this work, is heading the development, according to the university's release.

Abrigo and her colleagues have made nanofibre meshes, dubbed "smart" bandages, that can draw bacteria, using a technique called electrospinning. It works by using polymer filaments that are 100 times thinner than a human hair, and squeezing them out of a nozzle that's electrified.

"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," Abrigo said. "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."