The influence of Ag+, Zn2+ and Cu2+ exchanged zeolite on antimicrobial and long term in vitro stability of medical grade polyether polyurethane

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the limitations and applicability of different ion exchanged zeolites as antimicrobial additive in thermoplastic polyether type polyurethanes. These composites were designed to improve the health quality of hospitalized patients by expressing both biocompatibility and relevant antimicrobial activity. The zeolites were exchanged with silver, copper and zinc ions and single, binary and ternary ion-exchanged zeolite-polyurethane composites were prepared. The antimicrobial activity and the resistance of the composites against the human environment play vital role in the applicability of the materials as a medical device therefore these properties were investigated. The antimicrobial test were performed on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida tropicalis. The tests showed that the efficiency of the silver ions is superior to the other single ionic systems. Besides, the binary and ternary ion-exchanged samples had similar antimicrobial efficiency regardless the type of the ions in the zeolite. The biocompatibility tests were carried out in-vitro in artificial body fluids for a period of 12 weeks. As a result of the invitro test, degradation of the composites were observed and the structural changes of the materials were detected and described by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Contact Angle measurements and Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Reduction of Offensive Odor from Natural Rubber Using Zinc‐Modified Bentonite

“…As a clay mineral, bentonite is also commonly used as an adsorbent [12]. Solid adsorbents such as montmorillonite (which is the main component of natural bentonite) and zeolite were previously employed as carriers or supports of heavy metal ions of silver, copper, and zinc [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Silver is the preferred antimicrobial agent, but its relatively high cost prompts researchers to explore the oligodynamic effect of other heavy metals such as copper and zinc.…”

Contact Mechanism of the Ag-doped Trimolybdate Nanowire as An Antimicrobial Agent

“…First, it is resulted from the toxic effects of the heavy element Ag + released from the agent. Second, it is attributed to the strong oxidization effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by Ag + , which consequently causes permanent damages on macromolecules or membrane of the bacterium [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. On the other hand, the exact antibacterial mechanism of Ag-rich nanoparticles is not clear.…”

Progress in zeolite synthesis promotes advanced applications

“…In the recent years, several toxicological studies [39][40][41][42] proved that zeolites are non-toxic. Besides, incorporation of silver in zeolites has shown to improve their stability, and hence allows good performance required for optical and biomedical applications [43][44][45][46]. One of the important applications of silver containing zeolite crystals is as antimicrobial agent.…”