Researchers have used a common disinfectant and antiseptic to create a new antimicrobial coating material that effectively kills bacteria and viruses, including MRSA and SARS-COV-2.
Scientists at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy took chlorhexidine, often used by dentists to treat oral infections and for pre-surgical cleaning, and used it to coat the polymer, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The new study published in nano selection shows that this new material was found to be effective in killing microbes responsible for a variety of infections and diseases and could be used as an effective antimicrobial coating on a variety of plastic products.
Plastics are widely used in medical settings, from IV bags and implantable devices to hospital beds and toilet seats. Some microbial species can survive in a hospital environment despite enhanced cleaning regimens, increasing the risk that patients will contract infections while in hospital and then require antibiotic treatment. These microorganisms can survive and remain infectious on abiotic surfaces, including plastic surfaces, for long periods, sometimes up to several months.
Dr. Felicity de Cogan, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Biological Medicines, led this study, saying: “Because plastic is such a widely used material that we know it can harbor infectious microorganisms, we wanted to investigate a way to use this material to destroy bacteria. We achieved this by blending a disinfectant with the polymer to create a new coating material and found that it not only works very quickly, killing bacteria within 30 minutes, it also doesn’t spread into the environment or leach from the surface when touched. Making plastic items from this material could really help address the problem of antibiotic resistance and reduce hospital-acquired infections.”
The researchers used a special imaging technique called time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) to examine the material at the molecular level. This revealed that the material was antimicrobial and rapidly killed microbes, and after 45 minutes the surfaces were still free of these microbes. It was also effective against SARS-COV-2, and no viable virions were found after 30 minutes. In addition, the surfaces were also effective in killing chlorhexidine-resistant strains of bacteria.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought more attention to hospital-acquired infections, as it has been estimated that 20% of all hospitalized COVID-19 patients contracted the virus while already in the hospital. It has been estimated that in 2016/17, 4.7% of adult hospitalized patients contracted an infection while in hospital, with 22,800 patients dying from these infections despite the fact that these deaths were preventable. The most common pathogens that cause nosocomial infections are Escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureusand Clostridium difficile. Outbreaks of infection in the clinic are frequently caused by strains resistant to antimicrobial drugs.
Dr de Cogan continues: “Research has shown that contaminated surfaces, including plastic surfaces, can act as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance genes, fostering the spread of antimicrobial resistance among bacterial species through Through horizontal gene transfer despite deep cleaning practices, it is critical that new technologies are developed to prevent the spread of pathogenic microorganisms to vulnerable patients and address the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
“This research offers an effective way to do this and the material could be added to plastic materials during manufacturing, it could also potentially be used as an aerosol.”
—————————————————-
Source link