DUAL ACTION ELECTROCHEMICAL BANDAGE OPERATED by a PROGRAMMABLE MULTIMODAL WEARABLE POTENTIOSTAT

Electrochemical bandages (e-bandages) can be applied to biofilm-infected wounds to generate reactive oxygen species, such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl) or hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ). The e-bandage-generated HOCl or H ₂ O ₂ kills biofilms in vitro and in infected wounds on mice. The HOCl-generating e-bandage is more active against biofilms in vitro , although this distinction is less apparent in vivo . The H ₂ O ₂ -generating e-bandage, more than the HOCl-generating e-bandage, is associated with improved healing of infected wounds. A strategy in which H ₂ O ₂ and HOCl are generated alternately-for dual action-was explored. The goal was to develop a programmable multimodal wearable potentiostat (PMWP) that could be programmed to generate HOCl or H ₂ O ₂ , as needed. An ultralow-power microcontroller unit managed operation of the PMWP. The system was operated with a 260-mAh capacity coin battery and weighed 4.6 grams, making it suitable for small animal experiments or human use. The overall cost of a single wearable potentiostat was $6.50 (USD). The device was verified using established electrochemical systems and functioned comparably to a commercial potentiostat. To determine antimicrobial effectiveness, PMWP-controlled e-bandages were tested against clinical isolates of four prevalent chronic wound bacterial pathogens, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii , and Enterococcus faecium , and one fungal pathogen of emerging concern, Candida auris . PMWP-controlled e-bandages exhibited broad-spectrum activity against biofilms of all study isolates tested when programmed to deliver HOCl followed by H ₂ O ₂ . These results show that the PMWP operates effectively and is suitable for animal testing.