An international research group has developed a biocompatible bandage material that has antibacterial properties and will not require changing, a potential boon for burn patients.

The material is self-absorbable, and a new bandage can be put directly on top of the old one, alleviating the need for the frequent and often-painful changing of a burn patient’s bandages. The bandages could also help patients with other wounds in which the healing skin is damaged by the changing of dressings.

The article about the research by scientists at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Moscow, Russia, the Central European Institute of Technology (Brno, Czech Republic), and several other universities, is published in Materials and Design.

The experiment included three strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, each characterized by a different antibiotic resistance. In all three cases, a positive and long-acting effect was observed.

“We observed a significant decrease in the number of bacteria even 48 hours after the application of the material,” said NUST researcher and co-author Elizaveta Permyakova in a prepared statement. “Usually surfaces with antibacterial effect work only during the first day, often even the first hours of application.”

The scientists added that the material could potentially be used in the treatment of inflammatory bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteomyelitis. Their research is continuing, using other antibiotics and multiple layers of medication such as an antibiotic, heparin to reduce blood clotting in the wound surface, and another layer of antibiotic.