Novel dressing changes color to indicate infection

German scientists have created new dressing materials and plasters that change in color from yellow to purple when an infection is present, according to a Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft press release.

The novel material allows health care professionals to assess pathological changes without removing dressings and interrupting the healing process.

"We have developed an indicator dye which reacts to different pH values, and we have integrated it into a dressing and a plaster,” Sabine Trupp, PhD, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies EMFT in Munich, the stated in the release. “Healthy skin and healed wounds usually show a pH value of below 5. If this value increases, it is shifting from the acid to the alkaline range, which indicates complications in the healing of the wound. If the pH value is between 6.5 and 8.5, an infection is frequently present and the indicator color strip turns purple.”


If the wound has become infected, the plaster turns color from yellow (left) to purple (right). Images: Fraunhofer EMFT

In developing the dressing material, Trupp and her colleagues had to ensure that the dye remained chemically stable when it attached to the fibers of the dressing and did not contaminate the wound.

“At the same time, the indicator must show a clear change in color and also react sensitively in the right pH range,” Trupp stated in the release.

The investigators plan to incorporate optical sensor modules that would measure and display the pH value of the wounds on a reader which would allow health care professionals to track wound healing. The investigators will also test the dressing in a hospital environment at the University of Regensburg’s dermatology clinic, according to the release.

The investigators are looking for an industry partner to commercially manufacture the dressing.

Reference:

www.fraunhofer.de/

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