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The leading cause of increased mortality rates is infections from implanted medical devices, with catheters accounting for more than 80% of these infections. Polypropylene (PP) composites with antimicrobial properties were developed by adding binary mixed oxide (CuO-TiO2). The outcomes demonstrated that the spreading and encapsulation of CuO-TiO2 particles in the PP matrix was much better with the incorporation of PP-g-MAH compatibilizer. Matrix crystallinity is affected by the addition of compatibilizers, the amount of CuO-TiO2, and heat treatments. The synergy effect of CuO-TiO2 as antimicrobial agents was analyzed. The antibacterial efficacy's reliance on matrix crystallinity is elucidated in relation with various heat treatments, PP-g-MAH compatibilizer, and amount of CuO-TiO2. PP made of binary mixed oxides (e.g., CuO and TiO2) and 3 wt% PP-g-MAH that was processed with a low degree of crystallinity increased the material's capability of effectively rendering plausible antimicrobial species (e.g., •O2−, •OH−, and Cu2+) with excellent antimicrobial efficacy towards Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). This innovative composite, CuO-TiO2-PP, offers new perspectives on managing bloodstream infections associated with catheter use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer-based appliances are vulnerable to bacterial infections and pose a significant concern in biomedical field. Potential sources of infections have been found to be two categories of strain, namely Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), necessitating a comprehensive exploration of innovative materials and strategies to mitigate this issue. Accordingly, this work targeted to determine the effect of 1% and 7% Cu-TiO2 on the antibacterial activity of PP composite against S. aureus and E. coli. In this work, oval-shaped Cu-TiO2 were fabricated by a hydrothermal method and then incorporated into the PP by internal mixing. Subsequently, XRD, TEM, FESEM, and EDS were used to characterize the Cu-TiO2-PP composite. The structural properties of PP composite were greatly altered with dispersion of Cu-TiO2. Antibacterial tests demonstrated that the bactericidal efficiency of Cu-TiO2-PP composite on microorganisms greatly improved with metal-ionic systems compared with pure PP. This work throws some new insight in addressing catheter-related blood-stream infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]