Potent Antibacterial Activity of Copper Embedded into Silicone and Polyurethane

Abstract

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. CuNP-incorporated silicone samples displayed potent antibacterial activity against both bacteria within 6 h. CuNP-incorporated polyurethane exhibited more efficacious antimicrobial activity, resulting in a 99.9% reduction in the numbers of both bacteria within just 2 h. With the high prevalence of hospital-acquired infections, the use of antimicrobial materials such as these CuNP-incorporated polymers could contribute to reducing microbial contamination associated with frequently touched surfaces in and around hospital wards (e.g., bed rails, overbed tables, push plates, etc.).

Enhancing the Antibacterial Activity of Light-Activated Surfaces Containing Crystal Violet and ZnO Nanoparticles: Investigation of Nanoparticle Size, Capping Ligand, and Dopants

“…However, in this case the activities of the samples were enhanced using a low-intensity white-light source (500 ± 300 lx), comparable to the dim lighting in a hospital environment, which can range from 10 000 to 200 lx. 44 The polymer squares were exposed to ambient laboratory lighting conditions on a laboratory bench. To test the materials using conditions close to the real-world situation in other respects, the bacterial suspension in contact with the material was not covered with a coverslip and the samples were not placed in a humidity chamber.…”

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

“…There are many reports of antimicrobial materials for the prevention of bacterial surface contamination, such as antibiotic hydrogels7, copper8, silicone9, and polyamine based polymeric films10. These have shown varying antimicrobial efficacies, with limitations including the potential for the development of antimicrobial resistance to incorporated antibiotics, and the build-up of dirt on surfaces, obscuring the inherent antibacterial surface properties.…”

“…Collectively, the ROS generated in these processes are toxic to bacteria19 and due to the non-site specific mode of bacterial attack, the emergence of bacterial resistance to this strategy is unlikely. Moreover, recent research has demonstrated that this antibacterial surface strategy is suitable for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria representative of those responsible for HAIs81617.…”

Synthesis of spirocyclosiloxanes for transparent copolymer thermosets

“…The application of our research is not limited to production of thermally stable silicone elastomers, and instead the selection of single‐ring cyclic molecules C4 – C9 and possibly more with similar structures creates possibilities to various new materials. By combining spirocyclosiloxanes and C6 , two widely used medical grade polymers, silicone and polyurethane, could be integrated into one highly transparent elastomer through this simple method as shown in Figure (a). In addition, the enantiomerically pure cyclic molecules C7 – C9 could provide a way for easy preparation of chiral elastomers.…”