Plant extracts reduce the use of medical devices
Researchers at Cook University in Australia have developed a technique to make tea tree oil, etcPlant extractsPolymer coatings are formed on the surface of medical devices to prevent bacterial biofilms from forming, thus reducing the number of cases of infection.
American Medical News Network quoted research project leader Jacob reported that medical equipment surface usually has a large number of bacteria to form biofilms, in the United States each year about 17 million cases of bacterial biofilm-related infections, claiming 550,000 lives, about 80% of the world's surgical infections caused by bacterial biofilms.
The difficulty in developing the new technology, Dr. Jacobs said, was how to turn plant extracts from liquid to solid to form a coating on the surface of the medical device without affecting its antibacterial properties. The researchers used plasma-enhanced technology to solidify the plant oil vapor in the reactor on the surface of the medical device, forming a bioactive coating. Tests showed that the coating had good antibacterial properties.
The main advantage of the new technology, the researchers said, is that it is made without chemicals like solvents, so the coating, which is light-permeable and can be used in contact lenses, aquatic biosensors and more, is not potentially chemically hazardous or damaging the medical device itself.
