Prevent superbugs with an electrically conductive skin patch |

US research team publishes in an international academic journal
We provide a weak current in an acidic environment
Blocks 99% of Staphylococcus epidermidis colonies

A method has been developed to prevent bacterial infections using electrical stimulation to the skin without the use of drugs. It attracts attention because it is a new strategy to prevent infections caused by ‘super bacteria’ that cannot be prevented by antibiotics.

The research team led by Guirol Schiel, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), designed a skin patch that can control microorganisms by use of electric currents and published the results of the research in the international. academic journal ‘Cell Press Device Journal’ on the 25th (local time).

Scientists have used electricity to treat diseases. A pacemaker can control the heartbeat by stimulating the heart muscle with electricity, and an artificial retina can partially restore vision by stimulating the patient’s retina with electricity.

The research team applied electricity to prevent bacterial infections. Antibiotics are usually used to prevent bacterial infections. The problem is the emergence of superbugs that do not respond to antibiotics. If antibiotics are used continuously, more and more bacteria will develop resistance to antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance is already a problem for the world. According to a study published in the international academic journal ‘Lancet’ in 2022 by a joint international research team including the University of Washington, the number of deaths worldwide reached as a result of antibiotic-resistant bacteria 1.27 million as of 2019. Last month, The Lancet published a study that shows that around 39 million people will die by 2050 as a result of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The research team conducted a study to determine whether electrical stimulation could be an alternative to antibiotics as an infection prevention strategy. We investigated whether Staphylococcus epidermidis, a bacterium commonly found on human skin, responds to electrical stimulation. Staphylococcus epidermidis is generally harmless, but can cause serious infections through medical devices such as catheters that are inserted into the body. There are three types of Staphylococcus epidermidis strains that are resistant to antibiotics.

The research team confirmed that Staphylococcus epidermidis can be stimulated with only a weak electric current. However, the reaction only occurred in an acidic environment. When electricity was applied at 1.5V, which is much weaker than the safe level of 15V (volts) that humans cannot detect under acidic conditions, 99% of Staphylococcus epidermidis colonies were inhibited. It was also confirmed that the expression of genes associated with antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus epidermidis was reduced after electrical stimulation.

Since the skin of healthy people is slightly acidic, but areas with chronic inflammation are essentially neutral, the research team developed a skin patch that provides an acidic environment. It is a ‘bioelectronic local antibacterial stimulation therapy’ that changes the skin to an acidic state and then applies electricity.

The research team said, “We have proven that it is possible to replace antibiotics,” and “It could be applied to developing a tuberculosis patch with a wireless transmitter that ‘ can control diseases. “