Pathogenesis of Device-Related Infections

细菌感染常伴随生物医学植入物和留置导尿管。这些感染对治疗有抵抗性，它们持续存在并复发，直到移除假体材料。这个跨学科项目的目的是了解植入装置相关感染的病理生理学，并开发专门用于减少细菌粘附和抵抗感染的材料。细胞结合蛋白研究将确定预吸附蛋白、单克隆抗体和感染因子的受体缺陷突变体对葡萄球菌粘附和中性粒细胞激活的作用。将合成具有不同物理化学性质的新型聚合物，以研究这些性质如何影响葡萄球菌和中性粒细胞的粘附。这些研究应该有助于开发抗感染材料，从而在许多外科应用中更安全地使用植入装置。

Bacterial infections often accompany biomedical implants and indwelling catheters. These infections are resistant to treatment and they persist and recur until removal of the prosthetic material. The aim of this cross-disciplinary project is to understand the pathophysiology of implant-device related infection, and to develop materials that are tailored to reduce bacterial adhesion and are resistant to infections. Cell-binding protein studies will determine the role of preadsorbed proteins, monoclonal antibodies and receptor-deficient mutants of the infectious agent on staphylococcal adhesion and neutrophil activation. Novel polymers with different physicochemical properties will be synthesized in order to examine how these properties influence staphylococcal and neutrophil adhesion. These studies should aid the development of materials that are resistant to infection, leading to the safer use of implant devices for many surgical applications.