The smart bandage that administers medicine itself

Scientists from the Swiss Empa center, led by the Chinese researchers Fei Pan and Qun Ren, have developed an innovative bandage material that controls the course of an infection and, if it worsens, can administer medication.

Humanity has long been highlighting the problems associated with the overuse of antibiotics, causing significant harm to human health. The Swiss team wondered how to minimize the need for antibiotics in medical practice and improve wound dressings that tend to be quite opaque, making it difficult to manage wounds. Therefore, a ground-breaking bandage was born.

It consists of a thin nanofiber membrane produced from biocompatible Eudragit polymer, including a blend of PMMA polymers. Beneath the membrane is an antiseptic octenidine dihydrochloride. When the temperature of the wound area does not exceed 32–34° C, the antiseptic remains in a solid form. But once the temperature rises to 37° C, the polymers soften, releasing the antiseptic and infusing the infected tissue.

The bandages are designed for five applications (the antiseptic will only soften five times.) Currently, scientists are working on reducing the polymer resistance temperature to increase their susceptibility. Additionally, they are looking at ways to use a fully developed antibiotic instead of an antiseptic.