title: The bactericidal activity of glutaraldehyde-impregnated polyurethane.
abstract: Although glutaraldehyde is known to be bactericidal in solution, its potential use to create novel antibacterial polymers suitable for use in healthcare environments has not been evaluated. Here, novel materials were prepared in which glutaraldehyde was either incorporated into polyurethane using a simple "swell-encapsulation-shrink" method (hereafter referred to as "glutaraldehyde-impregnated polyurethane"), or simply applied to the polymer surface (hereafter referred to as "glutaraldehyde-coated polyurethane"). The antibacterial activity of glutaraldehyde-impregnated and glutaraldehyde-coated polyurethane samples was tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Glutaraldehyde-impregnated polyurethane resulted in a 99.9% reduction in the numbers of E. coli within 2 h and a similar reduction of S. aureus within 1 h, whereas only a minimal reduction in bacterial numbers was observed when the biocide was bound to the polymer surface. After 15 days, however, the bactericidal activity of the impregnated material was substantially reduced presumably due to polymerization of glutaraldehyde. Thus, although glutaraldehyde retains antibacterial activity when impregnated into polyurethane, activity is not maintained for extended periods of time. Future work should examine the potential of chemical modification of glutaraldehyde and/or polyurethane to improve the useful lifespan of this novel antibacterial polymer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Materials Chemistry Research Centre, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom.|UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London, NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.|Division of Microbial Disease, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sandeep K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sehmi
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbial Disease, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.affiliation: UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London, NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: MacRobert
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Materials Chemistry Research Centre, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom. i.p.parkin@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parkin
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D005976:Glutaral / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004202:Disinfectants; D011140:Polyurethanes; D005976:Glutaral
keywords: Antibacterial; biocide; glutaraldehyde; hospital-acquired infections; polymer