Tea brews up silver nanoparticles for wound healing in the developing world

Wound infections, particularly associated with burns, are a serious health problem causing high morbidity and mortality. Globally, a huge number of deaths occur because of infected burns especially in low- and middle-income countries, and most commonly in rural areas.

Research published in the International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology has looked at how silver-containing antimicrobial nanoparticle preparations might be used, not as topical antiseptic creams, but as a sustained-release component of an advanced wound dressing.

The cost of such a dressing would likely make it unviable in normal circumstances. However, the team involved from KLE University in Belagavi, India, has developed a low-cost, antimicrobial starch-based polymer film within which they can embed silver nanoparticles, synthesized using a simple method from tea extracts.

The team's environmentally friendly approach also benefits from using those plant extracts as they contain polyphenolic compounds, which have an additional antimicrobial character as they are antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and antimicrobial.

In tests, the researchers – Dinda, Anuradha B. Patil, Sumati Annigeri Hogade, and Abhishek Bansal – showed that their starch-based film showed significant antimicrobial activity against various types of bacteria, including the ever-troublesome Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Image source: CC0 Public Domain.