New Delhi, May 7 (India Science Wire): Researchers at Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology have identified a new biomaterial to prevent microbial infections on medical implants like urethral catheters.
By Sunderarajan
Padmanabhan
Studies have shown
that around 70–80% of hospital acquired infections are due to the
use of urethral catheters.
It has been found
that as the catheter is inserted into the bladder through urethra, the chance
of developing catheter associated infections enhances three to seven per cent
with each day of catheterization. This may mean additional financial burden for
patients since these infections cause serious complications.
Urethral catheter
associated infections frequently arise from diverse poly-microbial communities.
The problematic microbes causing biofilms include Candida albicans (C.
albicans), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli.
Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus are the worst offenders. The ability of Candida albicans to form a biofilm, its high rate of proliferation and defense escape strategies makes this fungal species drug resistant accounting for about 30% of inpatient deaths. Staphylococcus aureus also is highly prevalent pathogen in catheter-associated urinary tract Infections in children.
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Species of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus
aureus form mixed biofilms over various medical devices.
Therefore, researchers have been trying to identify new methods
to inhibit clinically significant Candida albicans or mixed biofilms of Candida
albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. Besides, efforts are on to
develop safe and biocompatible drug carriers that enable controlled drug
release and increased bioavailability thus lowering the therapeutic dosage.
Antimicrobial coatings on material surfaces can prevent microbial infections due to biofilms on medical implants. Several solutions are available. An aromatic compound called phenazine-1-carboxamide is one of them.
In the new study, scientists at Indian Institute of
Chemical Technology synthesized mesoporous silica nanoparticles and
functionalized it with the compound. They have found the new material to be four-fold
more effective than pure phenazine-1-carboxamide due to nanosizing. Mesoporous materials contain pores with diameters ranging between 2 and 50 nanometers.
The research team included C. Ganesh Kumar, Sirisha Kanugala, Sudhakar Jinka, Nagaprasad Puvvada and Rajkumar Banerjee (IICT). The research results have been published in journal Scientific Reports.
