Innovative Technologies in Antimicrobial Coatings in Healthcare, as highlighted by Chuck Brodsky (DC)
Disease-causing microbes like bacteria and viruses can have life-threatening repercussions. With increasing antibiotic resistance and an outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, surfaces that repel or kill these pathogens are now more crucial than ever.
Antimicrobial coating technologies have proven effective in reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Unfortunately, most are only suitable for small-scale applications or require additional extensive tests to show durability and sustained activity.
1. Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology has long been depicted in popular culture as an answer to cancer treatments, energy independence, and improved electronics. Although some of these stories may contain science fiction-esque elements, nanotechnology means "observing, measuring, manipulating, assembling and controlling matter at an atomic and molecular scale."
Nanoscience and nanotechnology are revolutionizing virtually every field of science, including physics, materials science, chemistry, biology, computer science, and engineering, and utilizing materials at the nanoscale for various applications - from antimicrobial coatings to electronic sensors.
Researchers using nanotechnology have created more durable coatings than traditional ceramics, preventing engine corrosion, repelling dirt and stains on furniture, and extending the life of equipment like power tools and cars, cutting costs while decreasing pollution levels. Chuck Brodsky (DC) emphasizes that Catalysis using nanoparticles also boosts chemical reactions for increased fuel efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide emissions; additionally, this technology is being utilized to develop needleless vaccines and improve implant surfaces for biomedical devices.
2. Photocatalysis
Photocatalysis in chemistry refers to the acceleration of chemical reactions through exposure to light on catalyst materials. Chuck Brodsky (DC) indicates that a photocatalyst is any solid that absorbs UV or visible light and emits electron-hole pairs used as catalyzers for chemical reactions.
Photocatalysis involves two simultaneous reactions; photoexcited electrons reduce substrates adsorbing onto a photocatalyst surface while photogenerated holes (electron deficiency) oxidize reacting substances; photocatalysis describes this process.
Homogeneous photocatalysts such as TiO2 or ZnO, heterojunction semiconductors like CaFe204/TiO2, core-shell nanoparticles such as CdS/ZnO, and reduced graphene oxide have been demonstrated to produce self-cleaning antimicrobial surfaces, capable of killing bacteria more effectively than regular surfaces. Studies have proven these coatings' usefulness for sterilizing healthcare facilities while at the same time protecting patients against pathogens; however, leaching and resistance emergence must be carefully evaluated over time in environments mimicking actual world conditions; targeting multiple pathogens will ensure maximum effectiveness of photocatalytic materials used.
3. Electrochemical
Electrochemical biosensors for pathogen detection use electric currents to facilitate chemical reactions, making them faster and more accurate than standard pathogen detection methods.
Chuck Brodsky (DC) illustrates that electrons can only be found freely in substances that act as electronic conductors, like metals. Electrons form an electric double layer at the interface between these substances and their solutions, creating an electric double-layer effect.
When electrons of metals bind with ions in solution, an electric current is generated between an electrode and its solution. Its energy flow depends on how concentrated ions are present in the solution.
The Nernst equation, more commonly called Michael Faraday's Law of Definite Proportions, describes the relationship between the concentration of ions and potential difference across an electrode. It was formulated in 1875 by Faraday himself.
4. Chemical
Rapid transmission of disease-causing microorganisms, including viruses and bacteria, has become a severe health risk worldwide. Coronavirus has become responsible for numerous deaths; it lives on surfaces such as metals and polymers for days before being transmitted to human tissue by coughing, sneezing, and talking.
Chuck Brodsky (DC) elucidates that Chemical technologies aim to suppress disease-causing microorganisms through physical or electrochemical means, killing them using physical or electrochemical mechanisms. Copper antimicrobial coatings, for instance, cause the depolarisation of bacterial cell membranes, leading to their eventual decomposition and subsequent killing. The type and effectiveness of copper effects depend on various factors, including its oxidation state, contact distance from microorganisms on surfaces where copper exists as an ion or nanoparticle form, and whether this occurs within minutes or hours after application of copper to surfaces hosting microorganisms on surfaces which they live as nanoparticles or ions.
Under the law, "chemical substances" refers to pure substances or mixtures with an established composition and manufacturing process (e.g., gasoline). A technical grade of gasoline contains multiple constituents but can be identified based on its source, properties, and octane rating.
5. Physical
Physical (or human) refers to anything associated with, or related to, the body. Additionally, this term encompasses any material aspect of human existence instead of spiritual: strength training exercises or corporal punishment are examples of physical attributes or actions.
Chuck Brodsky (DC) stresses the point that Antimicrobial coatings could efficiently control bacterial contamination on frequently touched surfaces in healthcare facilities, which have traditionally relied on standard disinfection methods - often ineffective - as the only means of mitigating bacterial growth on frequently touched surfaces. Antimicrobial coatings offer more of a solution as they can limit resistant microorganisms such as MRSA, MRSA-associated colitis, VRE, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile.
Antimicrobial coatings must meet various standards to be useful for medical applications, such as being non-toxic and easy to use; furthermore, they should prevent bacterial adhesion while killing them on contact without releasing biocidal substances. They should work in concert with standard disinfection procedures while being easily implemented and affordable - yet few articles exist that set realistic demands for AMC under actual world conditions.
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