Common types of viruses can now be transformed into a gel thanks to this new way a team of Canadian scientists from Ontario discovered. This virus-based gel could be used in many environmental and medical scenarios.
How is the virus-based gel like?
The gel is made out of viruses that fight bacteria, and they are usually found throughout the human body and surrounding environments, according to the scientists at Hamilton’s McMaster University. Ligh can be emitted by the phages and get healing abilities when damaged when formed into a gel. If you want to have a more in-depth look at the research, it has been published in the journal Chemistry of Materials today.
What could this be used for?
This gel that is bot regenerative and fights bacteria has a lot of purposes such as purifying tainted water and healing wounds, according to Zeinab Hosseini-Doust, the lead author. She said that tracking specific bacteria is one of the most promising features of the gel because this property, in an age of growing antibiotic resistance, this could be beneficial.
The main focus of the researchers, Zeinab Hosseini-Doust and the other three co-authors, was the development of the gel because it can be used for so many purposes that it would be too time-consuming to enumerate them.
What are the benefits?
When it comes to wound dressing, the scientists said this is the best naturally anti-bacterial gel that could be used, but this is not the only scenario in which the gel would become benefic.
The scientist said that she was surprised to see one of the most significant abilities of the virus-based gel that kills bacteria – it can heal itself and completely regenerate. The get proved this after it was cut with a razor blade. Only a few scars remained after the get came back to normal.
