Harvard University Is Working On A Band Aid That Can Reduce Scarring.

In ordinary life, small wounds that are scratched or pricked are usually bandaged with ordinary band aid. This durable medical material is very convenient for storing and dressing, and becomes a must for home. Recently, according to foreign media BGR, researchers at the Wyss Institute of Harvard University think they have developed an upgraded version of band aid which can reduce the band aid produced by scarring.

Researchers have been inspired by animal skin that can heal itself without scarring. A new wound dressing has been designed. It not only speeds up the healing process, but also reduces scarring. The most important thing is that it can be almost the same size as ordinary band aid, and the way of operation is basically the same as simple and convenient.

This dressing is a thermally activated hydrogel material that not only covers the incision or wound, but also contracts the two sides of the wound through contraction. And this contraction effect can happen at about 90 degrees Fahrenheit (about 32 degrees Celsius), which means that we can activate it only by relying on our body temperature - slowly contracting and keeping the edge of the wound in place to promote healing.

At the same time, the contraction effect of the dressing itself helps to fix it to the skin, which is stronger than the standard sticky band aid. In order to prevent infection, the researchers also added antibacterial particles to the dressing to spread evenly, thus inhibiting the microorganism and protecting the skin during skin healing.

"When AAD is attached to pigskin, its adhesion is more than ten times that of Band-Aid, and prevents bacterial growth. Therefore, even if it does not consider the effect of wound healing, this technology is obviously better than most commonly used wound care products," said Benjamin Freedman, a research leader, in a statement.

Before the commercialization of the technology, the team still has some work to do, and they intend to carry out additional tests and studies to eventually bring them to market.