Novel Antibacterial Modification of Polycarbonate for Increment Prototyping in Medicine.

Tomasz Flak,Hubert Okła,Klaudia Grzywnowicz,Ewa Trejnowska,Andrzej S Swinarew,Krzysztof Jasik,Arkadiusz Stanula,Beata Swinarew,Jadwiga Gabor,Szymon Skoczyński,Grzegorz Brożek

doi:10.3390/ma14164725

Abstract

In the era of modern medicine, the number of invasive treatments increases. Artificial devices used in medicine are associated with an increased risk of secondary infections. Bacterial biofilm development observed on the implanted surface is challenging to treat, primarily due to low antibiotics penetration. In our study, the preparation of a new polycarbonate composite, filled with nanosilver, nanosilica and rhodamine B derivative, suitable for three-dimensional printing, is described. Polymer materials with antimicrobial properties are known. However, in most cases, protection is limited to the outer layers only. The newly developed materials are protected in their entire volume. Moreover, the antibacterial properties are retained after multiple high-temperature processing were performed, allowing them to be used in 3D printing. Bacterial population reduction was observed, which gives an assumption for those materials to be clinically tested in the production of various medical devices and for the reduction of morbidity and mortality caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Highlights

Antibiotic resistance arises as one of the most critical challenges in medicine in the twenty-first century
Cytotoxic properties studies used the primary line of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) purchased from Lonza
The advantages of presented materials may be used to produce various implantable devices, both long-lasting, such as cardiac pacemakers or surgical threads, and used for an intermediate time, such as airway or vascular catheters used in intensive care worldwide. Another field for possible implementation is to use it to cover medical surfaces, which play an important role in infection transmission. This innovation, if tested in clinical trials it, will probably prove that the use of these substances will decrease the number of patients with bacterial biofilm development, and antibiotic consumption; decrease the need for surgical re-intervention, as well as antibiotics consumption; and decrease MDR/XDR/PDR-pathogens

Summary

Introduction

Antibiotic resistance arises as one of the most critical challenges in medicine in the twenty-first century. Due to global antibiotic overuse, in recent decades, a dramatic increase of healthcare-acquired infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens is being observed. MDR is responsible for rising costs related to infection treatment, but it leads to significantly increased mortality worldwide. One of the most important reasons for the presence of difficult-to-treat infection is biofilm formation on materials that come into contact with the tissue [1,2]. Biofilm-related infections are responsible for treatment failure and infection recurrence due to the ability of pathogenic microorganisms to survive in the presence of high-antibiotic concentrations. There has been an increasing number of difficult-to-treat infections caused by the widespread use of implantable medical devices that predispose to microbial adhesion and patient colonization [3,4]

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Conclusion