A plasma patch could soon be used to dress wounds. Plasma is a state of matter, like a solid or gas, and can kill bacteria including those that are resistant to antibiotics. Normally plasmas form at high temperatures, but a new patch can create cold plasmas that may be ideal for use on the body.
The patch is developed by German company Coldplasmatech and produces a plasma聽by sending high energy electrons through the air between聽the聽patch and skin.聽This rips some of the electrons off molecules in the air, creating a gas of free-floating electrons and positively charged atoms called ions. The resulting mix is an ionised gas or plasma.
The patch is unlikely to be used for small cuts and scrapes, but for more serious wounds where healing can be a lengthy process prone to infection. Each patch can be as large as 200 square centimetres.
Advertisement
鈥淲e don鈥檛 care how deep the wound is; everything is just filled up with cold plasma,鈥� says聽Carsten聽Mahrenholz at Coldplasmatech. The company recently presented the patch at the in Greece.
Plasma damages surface structures of bacteria. This process is also harmful to cells, but overall, they are more resilient. This means that during a short interaction with plasma, cells can survive but bacteria cannot. Plasma can also help kickstart the recovery process in cells.
Coldplasmatech鈥檚 patch is automated and portable. It consists of two parts: the active wound dressing, made of silicone that applies the plasma to the wound, and a small power supply. When powered up the plasma dressing is applied to the damaged skin, killing bacteria or fungi within two minutes.
The team are about to start clinical trials at two hospitals in Germany聽where the patch will be tested on wounds that persist without properly healing.
鈥淭here are patients who are not good candidates for surgery, so plasma is probably the only chance for a proper treatment,鈥� says Stephan Hager, one of the surgeons taking part in the trial.
Cold plasma still has some way to go before it is fully proven, says from University College London, however it looks like a promising alternative to antiobiotics. 鈥淐old plasma wound dressing certainly is revolutionary and provides an alternative to using antibiotics, which are recommended to be used with caution,鈥� he says.
