GREEN DYE KILLS BACTERIA ON BONE (Orthopedics This Week)
The dye is green and it sticks to bone fragments and grafts. When it is exposed to light the dye becomes antimicrobial.
A study, published online in April in the journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, reports that an antimicrobial dye activated by light “avidly adheres to bone to prevent bacteria from growing on bone fragments used in reconstructive surgery, and remove any bacteria that has already attached, thereby sterilizing the bone for surgery.”
Noreen Hickok, Ph.D, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, led the team that carried out the research. "We used a class of chemicals called porphyrins that are tolerated very well by the body in the dark and appear to have excellent antimicrobial properties in the presence of light. These properties allow sterilization during surgical procedures, which occur in bright light,” she said.
Hickok explained that surgeons often use bone chips or bone powder as a sort of putty during bone reconstruction to help areas of bone re-grow. These bone materials are typically sterilized with a series of methods including various ...
