NEW WOUND DRESSING FOR BURN VICTIMS

Scientists report they have made a new wound dressing for burn victims that can coat even the toughest nooks and crannies to prevent infection. 

Using a biodegradable polyester called poly(L-lactic acid), or PLLA, chemist Yosuke Okamura has developed a sticky coating called nanosheets that can be applied to any part of the body without adhesive. The nanosheet is like plastic wrap and forms a barrier that bacteria can’t penetrate to infect a patient.

“The nanosheets can adhere not only to flat surfaces, but also to uneven and irregular surfaces without adding any adhesives,” Okamura said

New dressings are needed because burn injuries often cover the wrinkles, ridges and uneven terrain all over a person’s body. Current dressings are bulky and work best on larger, flatter areas. But burns suppress the victim’s immune system and ability to fight off infection wherever they occur.

Source:
http://txchnologist.com/post/94545450788/new-ultrathin-sticky-coating-prevents-infection-from
Image:
Large-scale fabrication of 25 free-standing PLLA nanosheets with a thickness of 60 ± 6 nm suspended in distilled water, corresponding to the number of multi-layering processes of PVA and PLLA.
Credit: Courtesy Y. Okamura et al./Advanced Materials

CORINA MARINESCU