When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
Biofilms are networks of bacteria that can spread infection via surgical tools or corrode pipes. Scientists know that nanotubes can kill bacteria, mostly likely by disrupting their cell walls, but have had a hard time formulating a useful coating that incorporates nanotubes.
Nanotubes tend to clump together in solution. Previous work demonstrated that polymers can help break up these clumps. Now, One fo researcher from the University of Houston and colleagues have reported that mixing a few nanotubes with a polymer can kill bacteria in solution as well as create a thin coating that is resistant to biofilm formation.
Kathleen O’Neil explains in Chemical & Engineering News:
The team picked a polymer called polyvinyl-N-carbazole, because they could easily use it to form thin films on metal surfaces through electrodeposition. They tested a mixture of 3% nanotubes and 97% polymer by weight.In a liquid suspension containing the nanotube-polymer mixture along with Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis cells, the nanotubes damaged or killed 94% of the E. coli and 90% of the B. subtilis. When they used the mixture to produce a thin film, the scientists found that it completely inhibited the formation of biofilms on the metal surface. The nanotube-polymer mix also killed up to 90% of both species of bacteria added to the surface, about the same effect produced by a coating of carbon nanotubes alone.
Rodrigues and colleagues used atomic force microscopy to quantify the mixture’s antimicrobial activity. This study established for the first time, the researcher's work in a journal article, that only low concentrations of nanotubes in the mixture are needed to kill bacteria. Small amounts of nanotubes are desirable because they are expensive and can be toxic to humans in high doses, O’Neil writes.
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