ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2007) — The search for ways to protect polymer-based medical implants -- used in devices ranging from contact lenses to artificial hearts, as well as surgical devices and operating room equipment -- from bacterial infections has led scientists in Mississippi to develop a penicillin-coated version of a key polymer biomaterial.

In a report scheduled for the Feb. 12 edition of ACS' Biomacromolecules, a monthly journal, Marek W. Urban and colleagues describe a new way to modify expanded poly(tetrafluorethylene), or ePTFE, so that penicillin adheres to its surface and remains highly effective. This polymer is used in medical procedures ranging from vascular grafting to plastic and reconstructive surgery.

In laboratory experiments, the researchers also demonstrated that the penicillin-coated surfaces showed highly effective antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, which causes many serious human infections.

The researchers believe this is the first study to report such activity. "This approach may serve as a general surface modification process for the development of polymeric surfaces with anti-microbial properties," their report states.

Related Stories

Antibacterial Implants Could Prevent Infections, Save Patients' Lives (Dec. 15, 1999) — University of Washington researchers have developed a method of crafting medical implants from an antibacterial polymer that could prevent thousands of patients from dying of hospital-acquired ...  > read more

New Coating Process May Prevent Body From Rejecting Medical Implants (Apr. 16, 1999) — For years, University of Washington bioengineer Buddy Ratner has used the metaphor of a lock and key to describe how the body uses specific cell-protein interactions to promote healing. Now, research ...  > read more

First Evidence That Bacteria Get 'Touchy-feely' About Dangerous Biofilms (May 20, 2008) — Researchers report for the first time that bacteria use a sense of touch in deciding where to form biofilms. Those colonies of microbes grow on medical implants and other devices and play a key role ...  > read more

Innovative Coating Could Give Medical Implants A Longer Life (May 16, 2005) — By mimicking an adhesive protein secreted by mussels and a polymer that repels cells and proteins, Northwestern University researchers have designed a two-sided antifouling coating that could breathe ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

3-D Hearing Aid