Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Sciences, cilt.29, sa.3, ss.577-583, 2009 (SCI-Expanded)
Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the antimicrobial effects of silver anode and to discuss its clinical use. Material and Methods: Silver containing dressing materials were cut to be used as anodic and cathodic electrodes; on the other hand, for the assessment of the natural response of microorganisms to silver ions or silver containing formulations, sham electrodes, which were not connected with any electrical current source, were cut and placed in Petri dishes. Microorganism containing media were poured into the dishes. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii were selected among the clinical isolates of our hospital. The outer ends of the electrodes were connected to a direct current (DC) source, except sham electrodes (if used). Different current levels and different durations were examinated on different microorganisms for achieving a general overview about silver anode application. On the other hand, E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans containing 3 Petri dishes were abreast connected abreast and a 2.5 microampere (μA) direct current was applied for 8 hours, while plates were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Inhibition zones around anode, cathode and sham electrodes were assessed. Results: Inhibition zones were seen around all anodic electrodes. In some cases additional inhibition zones were seen around cathode and/or sham electrodes. In our second study, which was ran with abreast connected Petri dishes, there was no inhibition zone around cathode with E. coli, but marked inhibition zones were present with S. aureus and C. albicans. Zones around sham electrodes were variable and results were attributed to the natural response or resistance of organism to silver ions. Conclusion: Our study suggested the antimicrobial effect of silver ions, and showed that electrical current application could change this effect. Anodic current increases silver ion liberation from silver containing dressings, thus antimicrobial effect increases. On the other hand, cathodic current decreases this liberation and the effect of silver ions decreases. The results obtained from sham electrodes were considered the natural response of the organism to silver ions. Our results showed that silver containing dressings could be used to prevent pressure ulcers. While the addition of anodic current increased the antimicrobial effect, the cathodic current did not have such an effect. Copyright © 2009 by Türkiye Klinikleri.