Antimicrobial Nanocoating

描述（由申请人提供）：医院感染是医疗保健行业面临的最严重问题之一。在这个国家每年报告的大约200万例医院获得性感染中，大约一半与导尿管、输尿管支架、中央导管和其他经皮装置有关，这些装置为生物体进入更深的组织提供了支持表面。一种典型感染的治疗费用可能高达每名患者47000美元。虽然侵入性医疗装置，如支架和导管是预先消毒的，并在最无菌的条件下插入或植入；生物膜生长、结痂和随后的感染是最常见的失败模式。涂层可以使这些设备固有地抵抗生物膜的形成和结壳，可以显著降低感染和不必要疾病的发生率，更好地利用医疗资源，降低医疗成本，并挽救生命。结壳是由于矿物与设备表面的生物膜结合而产生的。这些沉积物抑制排水；是有毒细菌的宿主；增加局部组织对感染的易感性。抗生素策略已被证明在预防支架和导管的生物膜形成和结痂方面价值不大。生产抗菌表面的一种技术是涂上一层涂层，该涂层在暴露于潮湿时能够释放金属离子。抗菌银离子对体内使用特别有用，因为它们基本上不会被人体吸收。在第一阶段，布莱顿技术集团开发并表征了一种新型抗菌纳米涂层（AMNC），该涂层基于含银盐聚合物的气相沉积，可有效抑制多种微生物的生物膜形成。第二阶段将扩展这些结果，创造一种抗菌表面，通过以下途径抑制支架和留置导管等医疗设备上生物膜的形成和结壳：发展在输尿管支架、Foley导尿管和输尿管导尿管等泌尿装置上沉积这些膜的技术。2. 评估重要的AMNC特性，如疏水性/亲水性，摩擦系数，附着力和耐磨性。3. 发展AMNC的活性和有效寿命的预测知识，作为结构和组成的函数。4. 开始进行体内性能和生物相容性评估。据报道，美国每年约有200万例医院获得性感染，其中9万例导致死亡。减少传染病在卫生保健机构和一般社区内的传播，最终将转化为挽救数百万人的生命、提高生产力和改善生活质量。布莱顿科技集团有限公司的抗菌纳米涂层旨在使医疗设备和手接触表面自我消毒，以消除一些最常见的感染传播渠道。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Nosocomial (hospital acquired) infections represent one of the most severe problems facing the health care industry. Of the approximately two million hospital acquired infections reported annually in this country, about half are associated with catheters, ureteral stents, central lines and other percutaneous devices that provide a support surface for organisms to track into deeper tissue. A typical infection can cost as much as $47,000 per patient to treat. Although invasive medical devices such as stents and catheters are pre-sterilized and inserted or implanted under the most sterile conditions available; biofilm growth, encrustation, and subsequent infection are the most common mode of failure. Coatings that could render these devices inherently resistant to biofilm formation and encrustation could significantly reduce the incidence of infections and unnecessary illness, allow better use of health care resources, reduce healthcare costs, and save lives. Encrustation results from mineral incorporation into biofilms on device surfaces. These deposits inhibit drainage; are virulent bacterial reservoirs; and increase susceptibility of the local tissues to infection. Antibiotic strategies have proven to be of little value in preventing biofilm formation and encrustation of stents and catheters. One technique for producing antimicrobial surfaces is to apply a coating which is capable of releasing metal ions when exposed to moisture. Antimicrobial silver ions are particularly useful for in vivo use due to the fact that they are not substantially absorbed into the body. In Phase I, Brighton Technologies Group developed and characterized a novel antimicrobial nanocoating (AMNC) based on gas-phase deposition of a silver salt-containing polymer that effectively inhibits biofilm formation for a wide range of microorganisms. Phase II will extend these results to create an antimicrobial surface that will inhibit biofilm formation and encrustation on medical devices such as stents and indwelling catheters through: 1. Developing techniques for depositing these films on urinary devices such as ureteral stents, Foley catheters, and ureteral catheters. 2. Evaluating important AMNC characteristics such as hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, coefficient of friction, adhesion and wear resistance. 3. Developing predictive knowledge of activity and effective lifetime of AMNC's as a function of structure and composition. 4. Initiating in vivo performance and biocompatibility evaluations. Approximately two million hospital-acquired infections are reported annually in the USA, 90,000 of which result in death. Reducing the spread of infectious diseases within healthcare facilities, and in the general community would ultimately translate to saving lives, increasing productivity, and improving the quality of life for millions. Brighton Technologies Group, Inc.'s Antimicrobial Nanocoating is designed to render medical device and hand-contact surfaces self-sterilizing to eliminate some the most common conduits for infection transmission.