By applying dielectric-barrier discharge nonthermal plasma technique, we have treated fluids and generated antimicrobial solutions, tested for properties such as changes in pH, temperature, delay time, holding time, fluid-aging, and detection and comparison of acid and hydrogen peroxide. All plasma-treated solutions showed strong biocidal activity, and among them, NAC solution was the most powerful, inactivated biofilms of tested microorganisms in 15 min of holding time. During accelerated aging experiments, plasma-treated NAC solution exhibited the equivalent of two years of shelf. These results indicate that it retained its antimicrobial properties for an extended period against a wide range of multidrug-resistant pathogens, making it an excellent candidate for further testing in vivo.
The drug-eluting stent's increasingly frequent occurrence late stage thrombosis have created a need for new strategies for intervention in coronary artery disease. This paper demonstrates further development of our minimally invasive, targeted drug delivery system that uses induced magnetism to administer repeatable and patient specific dosages of therapeutic agents to specific sites in the human body. Our first aim is the use of magnetizable stents for the prevention and treatment of coronary restenosis; however, future applications include the targeting of tumors, vascular defects, and other localized pathologies. Future doses can be administered to the same site by intravenous injection. This implant-based drug delivery system functions by placement of a weakly magnetizable stent or implant at precise locations in the cardiovascular system, followed by the delivery of magnetically susceptible drug carriers. The stents are capable of applying high local magnetic field gradients within the body, while only exposing the body to a modest external field. The local gradients created within the blood vessel create the forces needed to attract and hold drug-containing magnetic nanoparticles at the implant site. Once these particles are captured, they are capable of delivering therapeutic agents such as antineoplastics, radioactivity, or biological cells.
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