Electrotherapy for implants
A new way to treat infections with current
The original method, developed by scientists from the Swanson School of Engineering (SSOE) of the University of Pittsburgh (USA), is designed to treat infections caused by metal implants. Researchers suggest using electrochemical therapy to increase the ability of antibiotics to destroy microbes, the SSOE press service reports.
Titanium has many properties that make it a suitable material for implants: low density, high rigidity, high biomechanical strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Today, different types of implants are made of titanium: from dental to joint prostheses. However, there is a constant problem with metal implants: their surface is an ideal place for the accumulation of microbes that cause chronic infections and inflammation in the surrounding tissue. So, about five to 10 percent of dental implants fail and must be removed within 10-15 years so that the infection does not spread to the blood and other organs.
To this is added the "antibiotic crisis": many microbes develop resistance to certain drugs. Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh have found a way to help antibiotics in the fight against infectious diseases.
The essence of their method is that a weak electric current is passed through a metal implant. The charge damages the cell membrane of the microbe attached to the implant, while not damaging the surrounding healthy tissues. The damage increases the permeability of the bacterial cell, making the microbe more susceptible to antibiotics. Most antibiotics usually affect the cells that will multiply, and pass by inactive, dormant microbes, because of which infections can recur. Electrochemical therapy causes stress in all microbial cells, including those sleeping.
The researchers tested their technology on Candida albicans, one of the most common and harmful fungal infections associated with dental implants. They describe their work in detail in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (Parry-Nweye et al., Electrochemical Strategy for Eradicating Fluconazole-Tolerant Candida albicans using Implantable Titanium).
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