Self-propelled microparticles scrub stubborn biofilms, improving wound care and instrument cleaning

Newly developed microparticles can infiltrate stubborn bacterial matrices and release tiny oxygen bubbles to clean surfaces and wounds more efficiently than hydrogen peroxide or other cleaning agents alone, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign report. In two papers, they have demonstrated the bubble-generating particles' ability to clean tenacious biofilms from surgical instruments, and—when embedded within bandages—to clean infected wounds and speed healing.