Greek Scientist Leads Team in Developing Band-aid Accelerating Wound Healing

A team of biologists and engineers from the Laboratory of Thermodynamics in Emerging Technologies under the leadership of Professor Dimos Poulikakos has developed a new silicone band-aid that accelerates wound healing and simultaneously protects from infection.

The wound healing goes through four different phases. At first, the silicone band-aid stops the bleeding. Then, infections are deterred. In the third phase, cells are being recreated and lastly, the wound heals. The novel plaster has a special surface which allows it to be removed without tearing off cells or tissue, while also including many tiny parallel grooves on its surface that accelerate the healing process.

The new band-aid is still being tested, but initial results have proven extremely promising for future use on animals and humans. According to the research team, the innovative plaster will be revolutionary in treating burns and circular wounds, which to date require much effort and time to heal properly.

Prof. Dr. Dimos Poulikakos received his degree in 1978 in mechanical engineering from the National Technical University, Athens, and studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he earned his M.S. in 1980 and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1983. Before joining ETH Zurich, he was full professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received numerous awards like the White House/NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1985 or the James H. Potter Gold Medal in Thermodynamics in 2000. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Experimental Heat Transfer and an editor of several other journals.