Ann Surg: researchers have developed electric field dressings to help wound infections heal

May 28, 2019 / BIOON / - researchers at Indiana University School of medicine have found a way to use electricity to enhance resistance to bacterial infection Dr Chandan Sen and Dr sashwati Roy of the Indiana Center for regenerative medicine and engineering have developed a dressing that uses an electric field to destroy biofilm infections Their findings were recently published in the influential annals of surgery Photo source: http://cn.bing.com bacterial biofilm is a thin and thick bacterial membrane formed on some wounds, including burns or surgery, and after medical devices (such as catheters) are implanted into the body These bacteria can generate their own electricity, use their own electric field to communicate, and form biofilm, which makes them more difficult to treat The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 65 percent of infections are caused by bacteria with this biofilm phenotype, compared with nearly 80 percent estimated by the National Institutes of health Researchers at the University of Indiana School of medicine studied for the first time the effect of electric field dressings on biofilms They found that the dressing was successful against bacteria when used alone, and when used in combination with other drugs it made them more effective This finding has the potential to significantly change the way doctors treat patients with bacterial infections that are resistant to antibiotics The dressing can also help prevent the formation of new biofilm infections in the future When the dressing contacts with wound fluid or blood and other body fluids, it will produce 1 volt of electricity, which is not enough to hurt or electrocute the patient "This is the first time that it has been shown that the use of drug dressings can destroy the biofilm of bacteria," said Dr Chandan Sen, director of the center for regenerative medicine and engineering at the University of Indiana and deputy director of the Department of surgical research at the University of Indiana School of medicine This has an impact on the whole surgery, because the existence of biofilm will lead to many complications These textiles can be considered as hospital textiles, and hospital textiles are the main source of hospital acquired infection "The sale of burn care dressings has recently been approved by the food and drug administration The team is currently studying the effectiveness of the device in the rehabilitation of burn patients (Bio Valley Com) reference: Kasturi Ganesh Barki et al, electric field based dressing breaks mixed specifications biological infection and restores functional sound heating, annals of Surrey (2019) Doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000002504