New Antimicrobial Polymers
5 October 2008, 15:03
Categories: polymers safety--security
In recent years, there has been a substantial growth in the number of hospital-acquired infections globally — a problem that has become especially worrisome as antibiotic resistance worsens. Medical devices have been implicated as part of the problem, because, after they are removed from their sterile packaging, they can transmit bacteria found in the air or on a patient’s skin.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have been working to develop a variety of polymers that quickly kill bacteria and other microbes on contact. Unlike antibiotics, the polymers avoid the problem of antibacterial resistance. The inspiration for the polymers came from a diverse class of naturally occurring antimicrobial agents known as host defense peptides.
Posted by: The Editors
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