Intelligent wound plaster promotes healing

(CONNECT) Börte Emiroglu is working at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) to bring relief and recovery to people with wounds that won't heal. Since April 2025, the ETH Pioneer Fellowship Programme has been supporting her in transforming her basic research into a marketable product and bringing it to patients as quickly as possible with her start-up Immunosponge.

The intelligent plaster from Emiroglu and co-founder Apoorv Singh is based on a granular hydrogel. It is intended to break the vicious circle of chronic wounds that often do not heal for months or even years in people with diabetes or circulatory disorders. "We want to guide a wound out of the inflammatory state and give it the right instructions to heal," the young Turkish scientist is quoted as saying in a report by ETH. "The tissue should recognise: Now is the time for regeneration."

In order for this to succeed, the wound plaster has a targeted effect on the molecular signals that have so far maintained the inflammatory cycle. It consists of tiny gel particles, so-called microgels, which, when joined together in large numbers, resemble the soft, sponge-like structure of jelly. If it is equipped with surface molecules called ligands, the sponge can distinguish between useful and harmful signals.

The aim is to selectively remove molecules that promote inflammation and release those that promote healing. According to Emiroglu, the sponges could just as easily be equipped with other ligands in the future. This means that the sponges could also intercept infection messengers in other tissue defects on bones, cartilage or tendons. ce/mm