Scientists, including those of Indian origin, have developed a wound dressing that uses an electric field to disrupt bacterial biofilm infection.
Bacterial biofilms are thin, slimy films of bacteria that form on some wounds, including burns or post-surgical infections, as well as after a medical device, such as a catheter, is placed in the body.
These bacteria generate their own electricity, using their own electric fields to communicate and form the biofilm, which makes them more hostile and difficult to treat.
Researchers including Chandan Sen and Sashwati Roy from the Indiana University in the US are the first to study the practice of using an electric field-based dressing to treat biofilms rather than antibiotics.
They discovered the dressing is not only successful in fighting the bacteria on its own, but when combined with other medications can make them even more effective.
This findings, published in the journal Annals of Surgery, have the potential to create significant changes in the way physicians treat patients with bacterial infections which are resistant to antibiotics.
The dressing can also help prevent new biofilm infections from forming in the future.
The dressing electrochemically self-generates one volt of electricity upon contact with body fluids such as wound fluid or blood, which is not enough to hurt or electrocute the patient.
“This shows for the first time that bacterial biofilm can be disrupted by using an electroceutical dressing,” said Sen, director of the Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering.
“This has implications across surgery as biofilm presence can lead to many complications in successful surgical outcomes. Such textile may be considered for serving as hospital fabric — a major source of hospital acquired infections,” he said.
The team is now studying the device’s effectiveness in patients recovering from burns. (PTI)
