Chronic wounds cause significant burdens on health care systems due to the complexities of continuous and changing care required. Smart wound dressings that monitor infection or deliver healing therapeutics have emerged as a solution, but combining both monitoring and healing functions into one dressing has proven complex, until now.

Researchers at RMIT University created a method of embedding tiny, multi-functional nanomaterials—known as carbon dots—into hydrogel dressing that serve the dual functions of monitoring and treating a wound. Their work is published in the journal Chemical Engineering Science.