The research team of NUST MISIS together with colleagues from the Czech Republic and Novosibirsk presented copper-coated antibacterial dressings. The new material is able to quickly release copper ions in a liquid medium, which not only kills bacteria, but also stimulates tissue regeneration.

The use of copper-coated nanofibers is very popular in medicine because it accelerates wound healing, can filter bacteria and viruses, and regenerate bone tissue. The structure of nanofibers has an advantage over other forms of nano- or micromaterials, which lies in their high surface-to-volume ratio and, which is important in production, the ability to make sheets or foil from such materials without any size restrictions.

For the first time, an international team of scientists from NUST MISIS, the Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Lymphology and the Czech research center CEITEC BUT managed to apply copper to heat-sensitive polymer fibers by magnetron sputtering.

The resulting nanofibers were tested as antibacterial agents for various bacteria. As shown by laboratory experiments, the rapid release of copper ions in a liquid medium (concentration up to 3.4 μg / ml) led to a significant suppression of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus colonies.

Moreover, copper ions are necessary for the bacteriostatic action of the cells of the immune system. Copper-coated nanofibers will become an excellent antibacterial and probiotic wound dressing material due to an interesting synergistic effect: on the one hand, the rapid release of copper ions kills bacteria, and on the other hand, it stimulates regeneration with the activation of immune cells.

Scientists are currently investigating the versatility of the developed nanofibers for biomedical applications. An article dedicated to the new material was published in the international scientific journal Membranes.

bbabo.Net