A new glowing medical material is being touted as a promising alternative to mesh implants and Slot Online internal stitches.<br> Researchers at Melbourne’s RMIT University developed the antimicrobial suture material using a combination of iodine and tiny nanoparticles called carbon dots.<br> The carbon dots are inherently fluorescent but their brightness can be increased so they stand out more in medical imaging.<br> “They can be tailored to create biodegradable stitches or a permanent suture, or even to be adhesive on one side only where required,” senior research fellow Shadi Houshyar said.<br> “This project opens up a lot of practical solutions for surgeons, which has been our aim from the start and the reason we have involved clinicians in the study.”<br> Lab tests published in the peer-reviewed OpenNano journal showed the material was easily visible in CT scans when threaded through samples of chicken meat.<br> It also showed strong antimicrobial properties, killing 99 per cent of highly drug-resistant bacteria after six hours at body temperature.<br> The next step for the material was pre-clinical trials, RMIT professor Elisa Hill-Yardin said.<br> “While this research is at an early stage, we believe we’re onto something very promising that could help a lot of people,” she said.<br> “We see potential, especially in vaginal mesh implants and similar procedures.”<br>