Polymers for Infection Resistant Urinary Catheters

描述(由申请人提供)： 医院获得性感染正在增加，并损害卫生保健的质量和成本效益。相当数量的器械相关感染发生在导尿管上。迫切需要新的有效战略来补充和补充传统的感染控制做法。理想情况下，新技术应该对细菌、病毒、真菌等表现出广谱的活性，但不应该鼓励抗药性细菌菌株的出现。在这个项目中，我们建议开发新的银系杀菌剂来预防尿管相关感染。这些抗菌剂将被共价结合到聚合物基质上，以提供具有持续抗菌活性的聚合物。将测量聚合物的物理性能。活性聚合物的抗菌效果将使用革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌进行评估。在第二阶段，我们将进行更全面的实验室和体内测试，并开发高效且具有经济竞争力的杀生剂。据设想，开发具有广泛适用性的新型抗感染材料将减少与设备相关的感染的发生率、相关的治疗成本和患者死亡率。在医疗成本节省方面的潜在节省可能达到数十亿美元。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Hospital acquired infections are on the increase and compromise the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. A significant number of device-associated infections occur with urinary catheters. New and effective strategies to supplement and complement traditional infection control practices are urgently needed. Ideally, new technologies should display broad spectrum activity against bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. but should not encourage the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. In this program we propose to develop new silver biocides to prevent urinary catheter-related infections. These antimicrobial agents will be covalently bound to a polymer matrix, to provide polymers with sustained antibacterial activity. The physical properties of the polymers will be measured. Evaluation of the antimicrobial effects of the active polymers will be performed using gram positive and gram negative bacteria. In Phase II we will conduct more comprehensive laboratory and in vivo testing, and develop the biocides to be highly effective yet economically competitive. It is envisaged that developing new infection resistant materials with broad applicability will reduce the incidence of device-related infections, the associated costs of treatment, and patient mortality. The potential savings in healthcare cost savings could run into billions of dollars.