The team led by Empa researcher Dr. Katharina Maniura from the "Biointerfaces" laboratory in St. Gallen, produced fine membranes from plant cellulose using electrospinning. The cellulose fibers with a diameter of less than one micrometer were spun into a thin three-dimensional membrane in several layers.  In order to achieve an antibacterial effect, the researchers designed multifunctional protein building blocks - so-called peptides - which can bind to the cellulose fibers on the one hand and also have antimicrobial activity on the other.

While in cell culture experiments the medical product - the peptide-containing membranes - was well tolerated by human skin cells, the researchers were able to kill staphylococci in bacterial cultures up to 99.9 percent.

The researchers now hope to equip the antimicrobial membranes with additional functions in order to release therapeutic substances.

Source:
https://www.empa.ch/de/web/s604/antibacterial-wounddressing