Science & Technology

Stone-age solution could help fight MRSA

By T.K. Randall
May 21, 2013 ·  8 comments

Image Credit: sxc.hu In an age where ever more sophisticated medicines and materials are being developed to help deal with the threat of super-bugs, researchers at the University of Brighton have taken a different approach - looking back to the past. They've found that fibres from the common flax plant are capable of killing bacteria when treated with special light-sensitive dyes and exposed to red light.

Materials made using this technique could provide valuable resistance against deadly bacterial infections in hospitals and may even help to reduce the likelihood of bacteria becoming resistant. "Using flax with absorbed reactive dye could benefit patient care in hospitals which have ambient red light installed and this could reduce the microbial burden on linen and clothes," said Dr Iain Allan.[!gad]In an age where ever more sophisticated medicines and materials are being developed to help deal with the threat of super-bugs, researchers at the University of Brighton have taken a different approach - looking back to the past. They've found that fibres from the common flax plant are capable of killing bacteria when treated with special light-sensitive dyes and exposed to red light.

Materials made using this technique could provide valuable resistance against deadly bacterial infections in hospitals and may even help to reduce the likelihood of bacteria becoming resistant. "Using flax with absorbed reactive dye could benefit patient care in hospitals which have ambient red light installed and this could reduce the microbial burden on linen and clothes," said Dr Iain Allan.

Source: The Scotsman | Comments (8)

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