Abstract
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections resulting from urease-positive microorganisms are more likely to cause a urinary catheter blockage owing to the urease activity of the microbes. Catheter blockage can be dangerous and increases the risk of severe infections, such as sepsis. Ureases, a virulence factor in Proteus mirabilis, cause an increase in urine pH - leading to blockage. An optimised biosensor “lozenge” is presented here, which is able to detect impending catheter blockage. This lozenge has been optimised to allow easy manufacture and commercialisation. It functions as a sensor in a physiologically representative model of a catheterised urinary tract, providing 6.7 h warning prior to catheter blockage. The lozenge is stable in healthy human urine and can be sterilized for clinical use by ethylene oxide. Clinically, the lozenge will provide a visible indication of impending catheter blockage, enabling quicker clinical intervention and thus reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with blockage.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 113775 |
| Journal | Biosensors and Bioelectronics |
| Volume | 197 |
| Early online date | 11 Nov 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:RH would like to thank the Annette Trust and EPSRC IAA project for funding, LG thanks grant MR/N0137941/ 1 for the GW4 BIOMED DTP, awarded to the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. BP would like to thank the James Tudor Foundation and Mr and Mrs A. Watson for their funding. We also wish to thank Evonik, Darmstadt for drum-coating the tablet-based lozenges and Mediplus Ltd, for sterilizing the lozenges with ethylene oxide.
Funding Information:
RH would like to thank the Annette Trust and EPSRC IAA project for funding, LG thanks grant MR/N0137941/1 for the GW4 BIOMED DTP, awarded to the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. BP would like to thank the James Tudor Foundation and Mr and Mrs A. Watson for their funding. We also wish to thank Evonik, Darmstadt for drum-coating the tablet-based lozenges and Mediplus Ltd, for sterilizing the lozenges with ethylene oxide.
Funding
RH would like to thank the Annette Trust and EPSRC IAA project for funding, LG thanks grant MR/N0137941/ 1 for the GW4 BIOMED DTP, awarded to the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. BP would like to thank the James Tudor Foundation and Mr and Mrs A. Watson for their funding. We also wish to thank Evonik, Darmstadt for drum-coating the tablet-based lozenges and Mediplus Ltd, for sterilizing the lozenges with ethylene oxide. RH would like to thank the Annette Trust and EPSRC IAA project for funding, LG thanks grant MR/N0137941/1 for the GW4 BIOMED DTP, awarded to the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. BP would like to thank the James Tudor Foundation and Mr and Mrs A. Watson for their funding. We also wish to thank Evonik, Darmstadt for drum-coating the tablet-based lozenges and Mediplus Ltd, for sterilizing the lozenges with ethylene oxide.
Keywords
- CAUTI
- Diagnostics
- Dye-release
- Lozenge
- P. mirabilis
- pH-sensitive polymer
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Biophysics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Electrochemistry
