Countless lives have been prolonged and improved with medical implants like pacemakers and replacement hips . But such operations also carry the risk that infection-causing microbes may grow on the implant and the immune system may reject the foreign object. An Inserm team from Strasbourg University in France has succeeded in creating a biofilm that protects against such infection.
The biomaterials and bioengineering researchers describe their work in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. The extremely thin, silver-coated biofilm has antimicrobial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties and can be used to cover titanium implants including new hips, prostheses and pacemakers, and other medical devices that can cause infection, such as catheters. The team has performed various tests on the new film and found it reduces inflammation and prevents the most common bacterial and…
