Plaster that seals a wound and peels off painlessly

Ahigh-tech plaster that comes off without hurting the skin or pulling hairs could make treat - ment of cuts and wounds much less painful.

the experimental plaster, being developed by scientists at

Pennsylvania University , U . S., painlessly peels off the skin after being soaked in water for just a few seconds.

But while on the skin, it is designed to stick twice as well as current bandages — reducing the chances of wounds coming into contact with bacteria, dirt or

friction that might slow their healing rate.

the plaster is designed for use on wounds that might require treatment at home or in hospital.

Standard adhesive versions can be almost as painful to remove as the injury itself — especially if the skin underneath is soft or hairy.

As the plaster is taken off, the adhesive can strip off the stratum corneum — the very outer layer of skin — causing significant pain.

hairs can also be yanked from their roots during the removal process.

Whether it’s best to remove plasters in one swift movement, or slowly peel them away , was the subject of a 2009 study by doctors at the t ownsville hospital in Queensland, Australia, and pub - lished in the Medical Journal of Australia. this found that slow removal was almost twice as painful as ripping them off in one go.

current advice from manufacturers is to soak the area in warm water before carefully lifting the plaster off, or hold an ice pack against the plaster for several minutes so that the cold makes the adhesive more brittle and easier to remove.

But the P ennsylvania team has now developed plasters with stronger adhesion (as many of those used at the moment can quickly come loose, exposing the wound to the risk of infection) yet are less painful to remove.

Most plasters either use glue that gives a very strong bond but is hard to shift, or is easier to shift but tends to lose adhesion quickly.

The glue used in the new plaster contains a chemical called vinyl alcohol — commonly found in pots of PV A glue used in classrooms — and boric acid, another chemical often used in antiseptic lotions, according to findings published in A ugust in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists found that when atoms in the boric acid come into contact with the vinyl alcohol, the pair bond to form a very strong adhesive. But when the glue is exposed to water for just 30 seconds, those same atoms quickly detach from the alcohol molecules to bind instead with the water molecules. this instantly removed the glue’s

DURING adhesive properties.

Lab tests, scientists applied the experimental glue to glass, which showed it had stronger adhesion than those currently used in plasters.

Separate tests on mice showed it left hairs almost entirely intact when it came to removal.

Scientists are planning further studies and said they hope it will lead to ‘the next generation ’ of wound dressing adhesives.

Ash Mosahebi, a professor of plastic surgery at the royal Free hospital, London, said: ‘ this sounds quite interesting. Anything that is more gentle on the skin, especially for young children and the elderly, is to be welcomed.’