February 2012
Intermediate to advanced
376 pages
12h 17m
English
D.J. Stickler, Cardiff University, UK
Indwelling bladder catheters and ureteral stents restore essential functions that have been lost as a result of trauma, disease or ageing. Surface coatings incorporating antibacterial agents have been developed for these devices in an attempt to prevent infections and the formation of bacterial biofilms. The challenge is to produce a coating in which the antibacterial activity persists for the lifetime of the device, which is not reduced by contact with urine, has a broad spectrum of activity and does not select for and spread bacterial resistance to antimicrobials. Catheters coated with silver or nitrofurazone for this purpose have come into clinical use and ...
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