Hospital-acquired bacterial infections are a significant burden on healthcare systems worldwide causing an increased duration of hospital stays and prolonged patient suffering. We show that polyurethane containing crystal violet (CV) and 3-4 nm zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) possesses excellent bactericidal activity against hospital-acquired pathogens including multidrug resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and even highly resistant endospores of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile. Importantly, we used clinical isolates of bacterial strains, a protocol to mimic the environmental conditions of a real exposure in the healthcare setting, and low light intensity equivalent to that encountered in UK hospitals (∼500 lux). Our data shows that ZnO NPs enhance the photobactericidal activity of CV under low intensity light even with short exposure times, and we show that this involves both Type I and Type II photochemical pathways. Interestingly, polyurethane containing ZnO NPs alone showed significant bactericidal activity in the dark against one strain of E. coli, indicating that the NPs possess both light-activated synergistic activity with CV and inherent bactericidal activity that is independent of light. These new antibacterial polymers are potentially useful in healthcare facilties to reduce the transmission of pathogens between people and the environment.

中文翻译：

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具有对抗菌素耐药细菌病原体和内生孢子的活性的抗菌表面。

医院获得性细菌感染是全世界医疗保健系统的重大负担，导致住院时间延长和患者痛苦延长。我们表明，含有结晶紫（CV）和3-4 nm氧化锌纳米颗粒（ZnO NPs）的聚氨酯具有优异的杀菌活性，可抵抗医院获得的病原体，包括耐多药的大肠杆菌（E. coli），铜绿假单胞菌，耐甲氧西林的金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA），甚至高难度的艰难梭菌（Clostridium）内生孢子。重要的是，我们使用了细菌菌株的临床分离株，该协议模拟了医疗环境中实际暴露的环境条件，并且具有与英国医院相当的低光照强度（约500 lux）。我们的数据表明，即使暴露时间短，ZnO NPs仍可在低强度光下增强CV的光杀菌活性，并且我们表明这涉及I型和II型光化学途径。有趣的是，仅含聚氨酯的ZnO NPs在黑暗中对一种大肠杆菌表现出显着的杀菌活性，这表明NPs既具有与CV的光活化协同活性，又具有与光无关的固有杀菌活性。这些新型的抗菌聚合物可潜在地用于医疗机构，以减少病原体在人与环境之间的传播。仅含有ZnO NP的聚氨酯在黑暗中对一种大肠杆菌表现出显着的杀菌活性，这表明NP既具有与CV的光活化协同活性，又具有与光无关的固有杀菌活性。这些新型的抗菌聚合物可潜在地用于医疗机构，以减少病原体在人与环境之间的传播。仅含有ZnO NP的聚氨酯在黑暗中对一种大肠杆菌表现出显着的杀菌活性，这表明NP既具有与CV的光活化协同活性，又具有与光无关的固有杀菌活性。这些新的抗菌聚合物可潜在地用于医疗机构，以减少病原体在人与环境之间的传播。