Preventing infection with an improved silver coating for medical devices


Date:
April 27, 2022
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
According to folklore, silver bullets kill werewolves, but in the
real world, researchers want to harness this metal to fight another
deadly foe: bacteria. Recently, scientists have tried to develop a
silver coating for implantable medical devices to protect against
infection, but they've had limited success. Scientists now describe
a new, long-acting silver-ion releasing coating that, in rats,
prevents bacteria from adhering to implants and then kills them.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== According to folklore, silver bullets kill werewolves, but in the real
world, researchers want to harness this metal to fight another deadly
foe: bacteria.

Recently, scientists have tried to develop a silver coating for
implantable medical devices to protect against infection, but they've
had limited success.

In a study in ACS Central Science, one team describes a new, long-acting silver-ion releasing coating that, in rats, prevents bacteria from
adhering to implants and then kills them.


========================================================================== Sometimes medical care requires surgeons to implant a device, such as a
tube to drain a wound or the bladder, or to deliver medication directly
into the blood.

However, bacteria can attach to and collect on the surfaces of these
devices, creating a risk for dangerous infections. Researchers have been working to develop bacteria-repelling coatings, including those containing silver, which is known to kill microbes. However, their efforts have
faced numerous challenges: Silver can also be toxic to human cells, and
it's difficult to make a coating that continually releases small amounts
of the metal over long periods, for example. Dirk Lange and Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu wanted to identify a formula that could overcome these
and other difficulties.

To develop a simple-to-use coating, the team screened many sets of
ingredients that they could apply to a surface in a single step. The
formula that worked the best included silver nitrate, dopamine and
two hydrophilic polymers. This silver-based film-forming antibacterial engineered ("SAFE") coating formed stable, silver-containing assemblies,
which gradually released silver ions in lab tests.

When exposed over 28 days to eight of the most common species of bacteria
that cause serious infections, this new coating recipe effectively kept
the microbes at bay. It did so in a unique way: by both repelling the
bacteria from the surface and then killing them with silver ions. To test SAFE's effectiveness in a living animal, they coated a titanium implant
with it, then placed the implant beneath the skin of rats. After a week,
the researchers found that implants with the coating had dramatically
fewer bacteria than those without it. In addition, there were no signs
of toxicity to the rats' tissues. The coating also appeared tough,
showing little wear and tear after being rubbed and sterilized using
harsh conditions. This combination of attributes is likely to make the
coating useful in many types of medical devices and implants to prevent bacterial infection over the long-term, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada,
the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Chemical_Society. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Hossein Yazdani-Ahmadabadi, Demian F. Felix, Kai Yu, Han H. Yeh,
Haiming
D. Luo, Sara Khoddami, Lily E. Takeuchi, Amal Alzahrani,
Srinivas Abbina, Yan Mei, Ladan Fazli, Dana Grecov, Dirk Lange,
Jayachandran N.

Kizhakkedathu. Durable Surfaces from Film-Forming Silver Assemblies
for Long-Term Zero Bacterial Adhesion without Toxicity. ACS Central
Science, 2022; DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c01556 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220427100449.htm

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