Hughes R L, Piergies M, Landau W
Chest. 1976 Apr;69(4):500-5. doi: 10.1378/chest.69.4.500.
The antibacterial potential of copper mesh in heated nebulizers was evaluated by simulating clnical usage in the laboratory and comparing the relationship between the copper levels achieved in nebulizer water and the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa organisms. Mesh size, length of immersion, temperature, water replacement, and nebulization all affected copper concentration. Antibacterial acitivity was demonstrated over a wide range of copper levels for as long as three weeks. Nebulizers driven for one hour by 10 L/min of gas flow and containing 8 gm of copper mesh were inoculated with more than 31,000 organisms and became sterile within 60 minutes of inoculation. Units without copper showed a much slower decline in colony counts. Solutions of copper salts also proved to be effective antibacterial substances but only in much higher concentrations than those achieved with copper mesh. It it is concluded that metallic copper mesh is an effective antibacterial substance when used in water-containing heated nebulizers. Attempts to quantitate aerosolization of copper were not sucessful, and potential upper-airway deposition and human toxicity with this technique remain to be defined.
通过在实验室模拟临床使用情况，并比较雾化器水中铜含量与铜绿假单胞菌生长之间的关系，对加热雾化器中铜网的抗菌潜力进行了评估。网孔尺寸、浸泡时间、温度、换水情况和雾化都会影响铜的浓度。在长达三周的时间里，在很宽的铜含量范围内都显示出抗菌活性。由10升/分钟的气流驱动、含有8克铜网的雾化器接种了超过31000个细菌，并在接种后60分钟内变得无菌。没有铜的装置菌落计数下降得要慢得多。铜盐溶液也被证明是有效的抗菌物质，但所需浓度远高于铜网所达到的浓度。得出的结论是，金属铜网在用于含水加热雾化器时是一种有效的抗菌物质。对铜的雾化进行定量的尝试未成功，这种技术在上呼吸道的潜在沉积和对人体的毒性仍有待确定。
