Polymers could aid ultraviolet detection of wound infection

When contained in a gel and applied to a wound, the level of fluorescence detected will reportedly alert clinicians to the severity of infection.

According to the university, the polymers are irreversibly attached to fragments of antibiotics, which bind to either gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria — both of which cause very serious infections — informing clinicians as to whether to use antibiotics or not and the most appropriate type of antibiotic treatment to prescribe.

The team also found that it could use the same gels to remove the bacteria from infected wounds in tissue-engineered human skin.

Prof Sheila MacNeil, an expert in tissue engineering and wound healing, said: ‘The polymers incorporate a fluorescent dye and are engineered to recognise and attach to bacteria, collapsing around them as they do so. This change in polymer shape generates a fluorescent signal that we’ve been able to detect using a hand-held UV lamp.’

Dr Steve Rimmer, project lead, said: ‘The availability of these gels would help clinicians and wound-care nurses to make rapid, informed decisions about wound management and help reduce the overuse of antibiotics.’