New bandage made from gold and silk can be a painless alternative for stitches

While injuries cause a lot of pain, getting stitches to fix them can only add to the ordeal for many. But what if even the deepest and most serious wounds can be closed using a less painful alternative?

Scientists have come up with a new kind of bandage made from gold and silk which can help mend wounds without the pain. It is activated when heat from a laser shines on it causing it to bond to the skin and can withstand seven times more pressure than stitches.

The skin doesn’t have to be pierced in this procedure and the bandage can simply be pulled off once the cut has healed. The thin strip has gold nanorods which are 10000 times thinner than human hair and convert laser into heat.

This heat triggers structural changes in silk and tissue which makes it bond to the skin to help the wound heal. The invention can also minimise risk of infections as human tissue won’t be pierced.