Abstract

Encrustation and/or biofilm formation in ureteral stents are major causes of obstruction and reduce the lifetime of a ureteral stent. In this study, the inner surfaces of polyurethane (PU) tubes (inner and outer diameters of 1.2 and 2.0 mm, respectively) were reformed with Ar, O₂, and C₂H₂ gases using specialized plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition techniques for the first time. Then, the modified PU tubes were immersed in urine for 15 days, and the characteristics of the inner surfaces were analyzed. Depending on the modification procedure, the corresponding inner surface exhibited different chemical properties and different rates of encrustation and biofilm formation. For a hydrophilic surface treated with Ar and O₂, encrustation and biofilm formation increased, while for the C₂H₂ coating, the development of encrustation and biofilm reduced by more than five times compared with the untreated bare PU tube. This study demonstrated that inner plasma surface modification of ureteral stents greatly enhances resistance to encrustation and biofilm formation.

摘要

输尿管支架中的结痂和/或生物膜形成是梗阻的主要原因，并且会缩短输尿管支架的使用寿命。在这项研究中，聚氨酯 (PU) 管的内表面（内径和外径分别为 1.2 和 2.0 mm）使用专门的等离子体增强化学气相沉积技术用 Ar、O ₂和 C ₂ H ₂气体重整第一次。然后，将改性PU管浸入尿液15天，分析其内表面特性。根据改性程序，相应的内表面表现出不同的化学性质和不同的结壳率和生物膜形成率。对于用 Ar 和 O _{2处理的亲水表面}，结壳和生物膜形成增加，而对于C ₂ H ₂涂层，与未经处理的裸PU管相比，结壳和生物膜的发展减少了五倍以上。该研究表明，输尿管支架的内部等离子体表面改性大大提高了对结壳和生物膜形成的抵抗力。