Kim Seong Hwan, Kim Dong Yun, Park Je Seon, Park Myungchan, Park Min Chul
Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Inje University, Gimhae 50832, Republic of Korea.
College of Pharmacy and Inje Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Inje University, Gimhae 50832, Republic of Korea.
ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2025 Feb 17;8(2):1397-1405. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.4c01658. Epub 2025 Jan 28.
Urinary tract infections are among the most common nosocomial infections, with the majority being catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). This study demonstrated that an antimicrobial and antibiofilm urinary catheter containing zinc oxide-carbon nanotubes (ZnO-CNT) can inhibit CAUTIs in patients. ZnO-CNT polymers were synthesized by mixing ZnO and CNT using a high-shear mixer, and the synthesized ZnO-CNT polymers were incorporated into a silicone matrix to produce a ZnO-CNT urinary catheter. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the morphology and atomic composition of the polymer and urinary catheter, which contained 1.23% Zn element. Dynamic light scattering analysis showed an average particle size of 253.4 nm with a zeta potential of +21.4 mV. To assess antimicrobial activity, the ZnO-CNT polymer and urinary catheter were tested using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and antibiofilm assays. The ZnO-CNT polymers exhibited MIC values of 0.0078, 1, 0.00625, and 0.0039% against , , , and , respectively. Antibiofilm assays conducted at concentrations ranging from 1/4 to 2 × MIC demonstrated effective inhibition of biofilm formation at 1 × MIC or lower concentrations in and . The ZnO-CNT urinary catheter inhibited biofilm formation by 53.42 and 56.44% after 120 h of incubation compared to the silicone urinary catheter against and , respectively. These findings suggest that the ZnO-CNT urinary catheter could not only replace commonly used silicone catheters to reduce patient discomfort but also serve as a viable alternative to antimicrobial urinary catheters coated with metal alloys such as silver, gold, or palladium.
尿路感染是最常见的医院感染之一，其中大多数是导尿管相关尿路感染（CAUTIs）。本研究表明，一种含有氧化锌-碳纳米管（ZnO-CNT）的抗菌和抗生物膜导尿管可抑制患者的CAUTIs。通过使用高剪切混合器将ZnO和CNT混合来合成ZnO-CNT聚合物，并将合成的ZnO-CNT聚合物掺入硅酮基质中以生产ZnO-CNT导尿管。使用扫描电子显微镜评估聚合物和导尿管的形态和原子组成，其中含有1.23%的锌元素。动态光散射分析显示平均粒径为253.4 nm，zeta电位为+21.4 mV。为了评估抗菌活性，使用最低抑菌浓度（MIC）和抗生物膜试验对ZnO-CNT聚合物和导尿管进行了测试。ZnO-CNT聚合物对大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌和白色念珠菌的MIC值分别为0.0078%、1%、0.00625%和0.0039%。在1/4至2×MIC浓度范围内进行的抗生物膜试验表明，在1×MIC或更低浓度下，对大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌的生物膜形成有有效抑制作用。与硅酮导尿管相比，ZnO-CNT导尿管在孵育120小时后，对大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌的生物膜形成分别抑制了53.42%和56.44%。这些发现表明，ZnO-CNT导尿管不仅可以替代常用的硅酮导尿管以减轻患者不适，而且还可以作为涂覆有银、金或钯等金属合金的抗菌导尿管的可行替代品。
