 Lock JY*,
Wyatt E*, Upadhyayula S, Whall A*, Nunez V, Vullev VI, Liu H. Degradation
andAntibacterial Properties of Magnesium Alloys in Artificial Urine for
PotentialResorbable Ureteral Stent Applications. Journal
of Biomedical Materials Research Part A. Abstract -
This article presents an investigation on the effectiveness of
magnesium and its alloys as a novel class of antibacterial and
biodegradable materials for ureteral stent applications. Magnesium is a
lightweight and biodegradable metallic material with beneficial
properties for use in medical devices. Ureteral stent is one such
example of a medical device that is widely used to treat ureteral canal
blockages clinically. The bacterial colony formation coupled with the
encrustation on the stent surface from extended use often leads to
clinical complications and contributes to the failure of indwelling
medical devices. We demonstrated that magnesium alloys decreased
Escherichia coli viability and reduced the colony forming units over a
3-day incubation period in an artificial urine (AU) solution when
compared with currently used commercial polyurethane stent. Moreover,
the magnesium degradation resulted in alkaline pH and increased
magnesium ion concentration in the AU solution. The antibacterial and
degradation properties support the potential use of magnesium-based
materials for next-generation ureteral stents. Further studies are
needed for clinical translation of biodegradable metallic ureteral stents. |
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