Almost 2 million patients in the United States get an infection in the hospital each year, and a large of those are estimated to die each year as a result of their infection. However, it is quite possible that in the future, hospital patients may have a new weapon to fight infection after surgery: powerful antibiotic coatings attached to medical devices like implants, catheters, surgical instruments, etc.
Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi have developed a way to attach penicillin, and potentially other antibiotics, to medical devices. The team has devised a method to modify the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene, a material similar to Teflon, so that penicillin sticks to it and remains highly active. This polymer is used in medical procedures ranging from blood vessel grafting to plastic and reconstructive surgery. The surface of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was modified so that arms would stick out from the surface, which the penicillin could stick to, and that would, in turn, surround bacteria and kill it.
Experiments have shown that these penicillin-coated surfaces could effectively kill Staphylococcus aureus , a bacterium responsible for many serious infections. However, the research team will have to find other antibiotics that are able to coat the surfaces of medical devices, as over 70% of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are resistant to at least one of the antibiotics most commonly used to treat them. The research team is also working on modifying other types of surfaces to hold on to antibiotics by developing coatings and by making the antibiotic remain active after it is attached.
|
{{comment.DateTimeStampDisplay}}
{{comment.Comments}}