Central venous catheters, flexible tubing that are used in many medical procedures to administer fluids or medications, are responsible for about 20% of bloodstream infections. While hospitals often try to prevent infections with careful protocols and preemptive antibiotics, the catheters can still be a breeding ground for bacteria, including varieties that are antibiotic-resistant. People handling catheters can easily introduce pathogens when they are connected or disconnected at their hubs, and the danger of infection increases for patients who have a prolonged catheterization. Bloodstream infections can become serious, leading to sepsis, which causes thousands of deaths annually and is one of the top causes of death in several North American and European countries. Now, researchers have developed an electrochemical catheter hub that could someday help prevent deadly central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) that annually kill thousands of people around the world.

Researchers at Washington State University (Pullman, WA, USA) and the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA) demonstrated that their e-catheter hub showed “significant antimicrobial activity,” killing off a common type of bacteria that is responsible for hospital infections. The WSU researchers have been working for several years to use electric current to create a continual disinfectant to prevent and treat infections. Reporting in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering, the researchers used 3D printing to create a catheter hub, then incorporated small, battery-powered wearable electronics that control electrodes to produce an electrochemical reaction. The electrodes are tiny wires made of gold or titanium. When controlled electric power is added to the electrodes, a reaction occurs, converting salt water in the catheter hub to hypochlorous acid, the bacteria-killing disinfectant.

Hypochlorous acid is commonly used in cleaning products, including in some hand sanitizers. It is also produced naturally by white blood cells of healthy people to fight bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Instead of one application that one might use with a hand sanitizer, the e-catheter hub is able to continually produce disinfectant. The researchers showed the e-catheter hub killed one variety of a common bacteria that cause blood infections. The gold-based electrodes worked best for maintaining steady production of hypochlorous acid and continual killing of bacteria. The researchers will soon be testing the catheter hub in animals and with other varieties of bacterial infection, and at higher levels. They are also investigating the maximum concentration of disinfectant that they can produce to kill off bacteria without causing any bodily harm.

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