TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Coatings Smart Coatings
Flinders researchers successfully transform Spirulina maxima, a blue-green microalgae, into ultrathin bioactive coatings by deploying an argon atmospheric plasma jet. It is a significant leap taken in the field of wound care using an innovative approach.
Possesses Potent Anti-Inflammatory Properties
The coatings not only tackle bacterial infections but also promote faster wound healing and possess potent anti-inflammatory properties. This holds promise especially for the treatment of chronic wounds, which often pose challenges due to prolonged healing times.
The novel approach could reduce the risk of toxic reactions to silver and other nanoparticles and rising antibiotic-resistance to common commercial coatings used in wound dressing.
The latest development reveals a new, just patented plasma assisted technology which sustainably processes a Spirulina maxima biomass into bioactive ultrathin coatings that can be applied to wound dressings and other medical devices and are capable of uniquely protect patients from infection, accelerate healing and modulate inflammation.
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The new technique could be readily applied to other types of natural supplements. We are using the plasma coating technology to turn any type of biomass, in this case Spirulina maxima, into a sustainable high-end coating,” said Dr Vi Khanh Truong, from the Flinders University Biomedical Nano-engineering Laboratory.
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With our technology, we can transform biomass into coatings on wound dressing which and this plasma technology is the first of its kind,” added Dr Truong.
Combatting Antibiotic Resistance
Extract of S. maxima, a type of blue-green algae, is often used as a protein supplement and to treat skin disorders such as eczema, psoriasis and other conditions.
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The technology offers a better solution to current commercial products, including silver, gold and copper coatings and is an important tool to combat antibiotic resistance,” said Krasimir Vasilev, NHMRC leadership fellow and director of the Biomedical Nanoengineering Laboratory.
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This new, plasma facilitated downstream processing can improve extraction and purification of useful compounds from biomass without the need for harmful solvents and a lot of energy input,” continued Vasilev.
Modulating Inflammation & Stimulating Healing
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We are now exploiting avenues for commercialization of this unique technology. Currently, there are no commercial wound dressings that simultaneously fight and protect from infection, favorably modulate inflammation and stimulate healing,” stated Vasilev.
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We believe that the technology will offer a market advantage to medical wound dressing manufacturers, and by reaching the hospitals, make a difference to healthcare and patients,” added Vasilev.
The cutting-edge research is based on the work of Flinders University student Tuyet Pham’s Master of Biotechnology thesis. The research has been generously funded by ARC, NHMRC and Flinders Foundation.
Source: Flinders University