title: Synergistic anti-biofouling effect of Ag-exchanged zeolite and D-Tyrosine on PVC composite against the clinical isolate of Acinetobacter baumannii.
abstract: Due to their susceptibility to bacterial biofilm formation, commercial tubes for medical use are one of the main sources of hospital infections with Acinetobacter baumannii. The anti-biofouling activity of novel composites against the clinical isolate of the multi-drug resistant A. baumannii is reported here. The composites were prepared by addition of micronised silver-exchanged natural zeolite (Ag-NZ) into poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), followed by coating of the composites with D-Tyrosine (D-Tyr). The Ag-NZ composites (containing 1-15 wt% of Ag-NZ) coated with D-Tyr (Ag-NZ-Tyr) showed a bactericidal effect (100% or a 6.9 log CFU reduction) towards immobilised bacterial cells. The uncoated Ag-NZ composites showed a reduction of up to 70% (4.4 log CFU) of immobilised bacteria in comparison with the original PVC. Rheological testing of the composites revealed that the addition of Ag-NZ slightly affected processability and formability of the PVC and increased the elasticity of the polymer matrix.
authors.affiliation: a Innovation Centre of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy , University of Belgrade , 11000 Belgrade , Serbia.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Milenkovic
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hrenovic
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Goic-Barisic
authors.forename: Milos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomic
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Djonlagic
authors.forename: Nevenka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rajic
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D017523:Croatia; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D012834:Silver / Q000494:pharmacology; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000494:pharmacology; D017641:Zeolites / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D017641:Zeolites; D012834:Silver; D014443:Tyrosine; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride
keywords: antibacterial activity; bacteria; biofilm; endotracheal tube; public health