Electric skin patch could keep wounds free of infection

A patch that zaps the skin with electrical pulses could be used before or after surgery to prevent bacteria on the skin from causing blood poisoning, reducing our reliance on antibiotics.

Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria usually live harmlessly on human skin, but if they enter the body after surgery or via skin cracks due to conditions such as psoriasis, they can cause bloodstream infections, which can lead to dangerously low blood pressure.

Antibiotics can prevent and treat these infections, but this has led to antibiotic-resistant strains of S. epidermidis emerging. Looking for another approach, Bozhi Tian at the University of Chicago and his colleagues considered the potential of electrical pulses, which have previously been shown to kill bacteria.

The researchers created square plastic patches that were 1 millimetre wide, each containing gold electrodes that, when wired up, produce electrical pulses that can’t be felt by people. They then spread a strain of S. epidermidis onto five samples of disinfected pig skin and put a patch on top of each piece.

After zapping the skin for 10 seconds every 10 minutes for 18 hours, the team found that S. epidermidis levels were reduced 10-fold on these samples compared with others that had patches put on them, but that didn’t deliver electrical pulses.

The intervention also disrupted the ability of the bacteria to join up to form a layer called a biofilm, which has been linked to more severe infections.

The results suggest that the patches, which could theoretically be cut to any size, could reduce the risk of serious drug-resistant S. epidermidis infections, says Tian.

Widespread antibiotic use is driving an increase in drug resistance and this alternative approach could help slow the crisis, says Munehiro Asally at the University of Warwick, UK. But it is unclear how the patches might affect other bacteria on the skin that can also cause blood poisoning, he says.

Tian’s team plans to explore this in further studies and hopefully test the approach on live animals in about a year.