Rechargeable Antimicrobial Dental Unit Waterline Tubing

描述：由于塑料管内表面微生物生物膜的形成和随后的脱落，牙科单位的水受到微生物的严重污染。这些微生物对牙科护理人员和患者构成了潜在的重大威胁，特别是那些医学上受到损害或免疫功能受损的人。该项目的长期目标是使用基于N-卤胺的可充电抗菌管来控制牙科单元水线生物膜的形成。拟议研究的具体目的是：1)使用简单实用的接枝方法，将N-卤胺结构共价结合到塑料管上；2)表征新型管材的抗菌活性、可充电性和机械性能；3)评估模型牙科供水系统中新型管材的生物膜控制功能和安全性；以及4)提供关于新方法成本的初步数据。 为了实现这些目标，在拟议的研究中，将使用“反应挤出”方法将可聚合的N-卤胺前体共价结合到塑料管上。挤压后，新的管子将用氯漂白剂处理，将共价结合的N-卤胺前体转化为N-卤胺。 新型含N-卤胺的抗菌活性、稳定性和充电性 管子将被完全角色化。选定的试管样本将在带有混合水生细菌的模型牙科供水系统中进行挑战，以测试试管的生物膜控制效率。将进一步评估新方法的成本效益。 如果成功，可充电抗菌管技术将为 牙科单位输水系统中的生物膜问题。此外，本研究中将要开发的抗菌塑料管材也可能在其他临床重要表面得到应用。所有这些都将为更好、更安全的医疗环境做出重大贡献。

DESCRIPTION: Given the formation and subsequent sloughing off of microbial biofilms from the inner surfaces of plastic tubing, Dental unit water is heavily contaminated with microorganisms. These microorganisms pose a potentially significant threat to Dental-care workers and patients, particularly those who are medically compromised or immunocompromised. The long-range goal of this project is to use N-halamine-based rechargeable antimicrobial tubing to control the formation of Dental unit waterline biofilms. The Specific Aims of the proposed research are to: 1) covalently bind N-halamine structures into plastic tubing, using simple and practical grafting methods; 2) characterize the antimicrobial activity, rechargeability, and mechanical properties of the new tubes; 3) evaluate the biofilm-controlling function and the safety of the new tubes in model Dental water delivery systems; and 4) provide preliminary data on the cost of the new approach. To achieve these goals, in the proposed research, polymerizable N-halamine precursors will be covalently bound onto plastic tubes using a "reactive-extrusion" approach. After extrusion, the new tubes will be treated with chlorine bleach to transform the covalently bound N-halamine precursors into N-halamines. The antimicrobial activities, stabilities, and rechargeabilities of the new N-halamine-containing tubes will be fully characterized. Selected tube samples will be challenged in model Dental water delivery systems with mixed species of water-borne bacteria to test the biofilm-controlling efficiency of the tubes. The cost-effectiveness of the new approach will be further evaluated. If successful, the rechargeable antimicrobial tubing technology will provide an innovative solution to the biofilm problem in Dental unit water delivery systems. Furthermore, the antimicrobial plastic tube materials to be developed in this study may also find applications in other clinically important surfaces. All these will make significant contributions to a better and safer healthcare environment.