Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biological Sciences
Committee Chair
Tatyana A. Sysoeva
Committee Member
John A. Mayo
Committee Member
Kunning G. Xu
Subject(s)
Surgical instruments and apparatus--Sterilization, Drug resistance in microorganisms, Escherichia coli, Urinary tract infections--Prevention, Low temperature plasmas
Abstract
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most abundant bacterial infections world-wide with over 10 million cases and 13,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. The use of urinary catheters in hospitals and in outpatients significantly increases the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) that are promoted by uropathogenic biofilm formation. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the dominant cause for both UTI and CAUTI, which are becoming increasingly multidrug-resistant. Uropathogenic biofilm accumulation on urinary catheters is very resistant to treatment by traditional sterilization methods. Cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPP) have been known for their strong microbicidal properties towards many bacteria including non-pathogenic E. coli strains. This research project tests the feasibility of CAPP use as a model technique for sterilizing narrow, flexible tubing that could be sustainable for cleaning urinary catheters to overall reduce CAUTI burden.
Recommended Citation
Briggs, Elanie Francease, "Testing cold atmospheric pressure plasma : a model for cleaning single-use urinary catheters to prevent infections" (2023). Theses. 625.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/625