Science & Technology
Stone-age solution could help fight MRSA
By
T.K. RandallMay 21, 2013 ·
8 comments
Image Credit: sxc.hu
A plant first used over 30,000 years ago could prove vital in the fight against resistant infections.
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.
Flax absorbs some light-sensitive dyes with a greater capacity than the most commonly used material, cotton. After stimulation with red light, the dyes produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) that kill bacteria.
Source:
The Scotsman |
Comments (8)
Tags:
Please Login or Register to post a comment.