The plaster detects wound infection

Dr. Andrea Bannert has been with since 2013. The doctor of biology and medicine editor initially carried out research in microbiology and is the team's expert on the tiny things: bacteria, viruses, molecules and genes. She also works as a freelancer for Bayerischer Rundfunk and various science magazines and writes fantasy novels and children's stories.

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Bacterial infections in wounds are often noticed too late. A colored warning plaster could soon help.

A man poured hot water on his leg and now has a severe burn. It can easily catch fire. Normally the doctor would therefore prescribe antibiotics as a preventive measure. But he only sticks a plaster on the injury - a green one. As long as it keeps this color, everything is fine. If, on the other hand, it suddenly turns red, the patient must act immediately. Because the patch indicates the onset of a bacterial infection. In an emergency, this enables quick, targeted treatment.

Against the background of increasing antibiotic resistance, this is a good approach - and it is by no means fictional. Researchers at the University of Siegen are currently working on such a warning system that makes infections visible to the naked eye.

Play of colors like a drop of oil

Holger Schönherr and his team are developing special biosensors for this purpose. They consist of small channels that are of different thicknesses in different places. They change color as soon as the content of the pores changes, for example from air to water. "Similar to a droplet of oil on the street in which you can see all the colors of the rainbow when it gets wet," explains Schönherr to

Bacterial enzymes open pores

The color change should be triggered by infectious bacteria. "We block the end of the air-filled tubes with a material that is selectively broken down by pathogens," says Schönherr. The researchers do not yet know exactly what kind of substance that will be in the end. First attempts with hyaluronic acid were very promising. The substance is broken down by certain enzymes, the hyaluronidases. They are found in staphylococci, a type of bacteria that is a common cause of wound infections.

“In times of rapidly growing antibiotic resistance of bacteria, this novel approach is very promising. In this way, the preventive administration of antibiotics can be avoided without the threat of serious infections, ”says Schönherr. The use of biosensors in food monitoring is also conceivable. However, it will be a few years before the "warning lights" come onto the market.

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