Antibacterial Surfaces with Activity against Antimicrobial Resistant Bacterial Pathogens and Endospores.

Hospital-acquired bacterial infections are a significant burden on healthcare systems worldwide causing an increased duration of hospital stays and prolonged patient suffering. We show that polyurethane containing crystal violet (CV) and 3-4 nm zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) possesses excellent bactericidal activity against hospital-acquired pathogens including multidrug resistant (), , methicillin-resistant (MRSA), and even highly resistant endospores of . Importantly, we used clinical isolates of bacterial strains, a protocol to mimic the environmental conditions of a real exposure in the healthcare setting, and low light intensity equivalent to that encountered in UK hospitals (∼500 lux).

Thiol-Capped Gold Nanoparticles Swell-Encapsulated into Polyurethane as Powerful Antibacterial Surfaces Under Dark and Light Conditions.

A simple procedure to develop antibacterial surfaces using thiol-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is shown, which effectively kill bacteria under dark and light conditions. The effect of AuNP size and concentration on photo-activated antibacterial surfaces is reported and we show significant size effects, as well as bactericidal activity with crystal violet (CV) coated polyurethane. These materials have been proven to be powerful antibacterial surfaces against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

The bactericidal activity of glutaraldehyde-impregnated polyurethane.

Although glutaraldehyde is known to be bactericidal in solution, its potential use to create novel antibacterial polymers suitable for use in healthcare environments has not been evaluated. Here, novel materials were prepared in which glutaraldehyde was either incorporated into polyurethane using a simple "swell-encapsulation-shrink" method (hereafter referred to as "glutaraldehyde-impregnated polyurethane"), or simply applied to the polymer surface (hereafter referred to as "glutaraldehyde-coated polyurethane"). The antibacterial activity of glutaraldehyde-impregnated and glutaraldehyde-coated polyurethane samples was tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

White light-activated antimicrobial surfaces: effect of nanoparticles type on activity.

Toluidine blue O (TBO) dye together with either silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs), gold (Au) NPs, or a mixture of Ag and Au NPs (Mix Ag-Au NPs) were incorporated into polyurethane to make antimicrobial surfaces using a swell-encapsulation-shrink process. Antimicrobial testing against Escherichia coli showed that inclusion of the NPs significantly enhanced the antimicrobial activities of the TBO polyurethane samples. In particular, samples containing Ag NPs exhibited potent antimicrobial activity under white light and surprisingly, also in the dark.

Enhanced Bactericidal Activity of Silver Thin Films Deposited via Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Silver thin films were deposited on SiO2-barrier-coated float glass, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass, Activ glass, and TiO2-coated float glass via AACVD using silver nitrate at 350 °C. The films were annealed at 600 °C and analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV/vis/near-IR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. All the films were crystalline, and the silver was present in its elemental form and of nanometer dimension.

Potent Antibacterial Activity of Copper Embedded into Silicone and Polyurethane.

A simple, easily up-scalable swell-encapsulation-shrink technique was used to incorporate small 2.5 nm copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) into two widely used medical grade polymers, polyurethane, and silicone, with no significant impact on polymer coloration. Both medical grade polymers with incorporated CuNPs demonstrated potent antimicrobial activity against the clinically relevant bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Lethal photosensitisation of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli using crystal violet and zinc oxide-encapsulated polyurethane.

Crystal violet and zinc oxide nanoparticles (CVZnO) were incorporated into medical grade polyurethane polymers by a two-step dipping procedure to prepare novel bactericidal surfaces. The photobactericidal activity of CVZnO polyurethane samples was tested against the Gram-positive bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli. Exposure of the polymer samples to white light induced the lethal photosensitisation of both S.

Surface redox chemistry and mechanochemistry of insulating polystyrene nanospheres.

Cyclic voltammetry (CV) of polystyrene nanospheres was carried out after immobilisation onto boron-doped diamond electrodes. Although the polystyrene is insulating, a voltammetric response was obtained. This was attributed to the high surface area of the nanospheres, allowing the redox chemistry of the polystyrene surface to be probed despite the non-conducting nature of the bulk.