A new wound gel prototype made of a long chain-shaped polymer molecule, which is bound to fluorescent dye, glows under an ultraviolet light when an infection is present in a wound.

At the 2011 British Science Festival in Bradford, UK, researchers from the University of Sheffield described how the polymer in the gel changes shape when it binds to bacteria in a wound. The fluorescent dye also binds to the bacteria, and when seen under an ultraviolet light alerts clinicians to the wound infection.

This new invention is still being developed, but has high potential for the healthcare industry by detecting wound infection earlier than the traditional swabbing technique. The development will also be important for military medicine, where detecting infection in wounds may be difficult due to battlefield conditions.

Image: Isolated bacteria. Credit: NEPMET on Flickr.

Click here to see more information in the NHS Choices article.