Article about Enox Biopharma's self-sterilizing technology for catheters accepted for publication

Jan 6 2010

A prestigious peer-review journal will publish an article in its January 2010 edition outlining a Vancouver BC based biomedical technology company's solution to the growing problem of hospital patients acquiring bacterial infections.

The article about Enox Biopharma's self-sterilizing technology for catheters (patent pending) was accepted for publication in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology and one of the most prominent publications in the field.

Professor Yossef Av-Gay and his team demonstrated the ability of Enox's Foley gaseous nitric oxide-impregnated catheters to prevent common bacterial infections. "Our approach to this problem required ingenuity, technology and common sense, and a lot of strong, tested science to develop a medical and technological solution to a chronic problem in today's hospitals," Dr. Av-Gay, Enox Biopharma's president, explained.

The paper's authors describe and detail Enox Biopharma's nitric oxide gas impregnation technology and its approach to prevent the colonization of catheters by urinary tract infection associated bacteria.

"Nitric oxide gas is a naturally produced free radical with proven bactericidal effect. Its potential impact in preventing infection without the use of antibiotic applications or coatings is significant," Dr. Av-Gay said, adding, "There is limited risk of patients developing resistance to its antibacterial properties."

In the manuscript, the authors describe the process in which Foley urinary catheters were impregnated with gaseous nitric oxide. Using Enox's technology, the catheters released molecules of nitric oxide slowly and steadily over a 14-day period. The charged catheters became antiseptic, able to prevent bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on their luminal and exterior surfaces. The paper reports the finding that nitric oxide impregnated catheters inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli within the surrounding media.

The study is entitled "The slow release of Nitric Oxide from charged catheter and its effect on biofilm formation by Escherichia coli".