Nano-BaSO4: a novel antimicrobial additive to pellethane

George E Aninwene II,1 David Stout,2 Zifan Yang,2 Thomas J Webster11Program in Bioengineering and Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; 2School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USAAbstract: Hospital-acquired infections remain a costly clinical problem. Barium sulfate (BaSO4, in micron particulate form) is a common radiopacifying agent that is added to catheters and endotracheal tubes. Due to the recently observed ability of nanostructured surface features to decrease functions of bacteria without the aid of antibiotics, the objective of this in vitro study was to incorporate nano-barium sulfate into pellethane and determine the antimicrobial properties of the resulting composites. The results demonstrated for the first time that the incorporation of nano-barium sulfate into pellethane enhanced antimicrobial properties (using Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) compared to currently used pellethane; properties that warrant further investigation for a wide range of clinical applications.Keywords: antimicrobial polymer, hospital-acquired infections, surface roughness, radiopaque agent, dynamic contact microbial testing