Coatings & surface treatment
nitric oxide stops that happening,” says Morris. Using just one technology, the antimicrobial coating can release and produce nitric oxide on the surface of a medical device to fight bacteria and prevent infection while also preventing platelet activation and the clotting process.
Nothing new
Antimicrobial coatings provide a non-drug- based route to device infection prevention.
describes as “sponges” that can soak up gases. “MOFs are probably some of the most exciting types of material developed over the last 25–30 years or so,” says Morris. “And we’re interested in using them to act like mini gas tanks to deliver the gas the body uses to do lots of things.” By delivering nitric oxide to help kill bacteria from the material’s reservoir, which is great for short-term applications. But once that runs out, Morris continues, the materials act as a catalyst to produce nitric oxide at the surface of the materials, which keeps it protected from bacteria. “What we have found is that while we do kill the bacteria that adhere to the surface, we are killing everything around in the whole body because we are having that localised effect,” adds Reynolds. This is a real benefit, she explains, as the coating offers targeted treatment to impact the root of the problem with no worry of systemic side effects. Follow-up studies are needed, however, to determine what happens to additional bacteria and whether they become more susceptible to antibiotic treatment she explains, but the main focus for her is localised treatment. An additional benefit that both point to is its anti-platelet activity. “[If] you put something into the blood, it tends to set off the platelets and start clots –
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The antimicrobial coating offers a non-drug-based route to prevent infection from medical devices due to its specific mechanism. “This is not a drug- based approach because we’re not eluting any drugs out of the surface,” Reynolds emphasises. “We’re not introducing anything into the body that’s going to go into circulation and cause any type of toxicity because there is nothing in circulation at a measurable level.” “It’s one that’s been around for millions of years and biology that still works, right? So, it’s less prone to drug resistance,” adds Morris. This is partly why Reynolds believes it’s a safe technology, as there is no additional concern over where the drug or active agent goes after it has done its job, whether it’s functioning correctly and at the surface and if there are any side effects. That is not to say that the MOF doesn’t work as a drug- eluting material, as Morris points, out, as various drugs can be stored inside the material’s pores and deliver drugs for various applications. As with any material though, there are some challenges. While Reynolds is quick to point out that with the MOF they are working with, the material and device do not have to deal with delamination like other coatings where they are made from a different material from the device. “That’s another advantage; we aren’t trying to add a material to another,” she says. “We can actually make one functional device out of the materials that are already used.”
Despite Reynolds’ confidence, Morris points out that with any new medical device, it still needs to get through all the different efficacy and safety trials. “There are lots of things we’ve got to do. It’s still at a stage where we know these materials work really well in the lab,” he continues. “Now the next stage of course is to prove that they work really well out in the real world in real people, so that’s obviously a big challenge.”
Challenges aside, the collaboration from both universities has exciting potential for tackling medical device infection in a localised way. With both Reynolds and Morris expecting the coating to combat these types of bacterial infections and complications in a big, non-drug-based approach, their antimicrobial material could be a powerful weapon in medical device coating’s arsenal. ●
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
USTAN Technology
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