In this thesis, low direct currents (DC) have been shown to successfully reduce bacterial adherence to conducting polymers in unique electrically modified flow devices without the aid of an antimicrobial agent. However, alternating currents (AC) and radio-frequency currents (RF) were not found to be effective. The design and manufacture of these new DC and RF flow devices has been comprehensively documented within, accompanied by relevant standard operating procedures and experimental designs. Additionally, the thesis includes a review of seminal bioelectric literature and discusses the potential for exciting future developments in this multidisciplinary field of research. These findings are ultimately intended to facilitate the design of new indwelling medical devices (IMDs) as well as electrically sterilized polymer surfaces for a wide range of far-reaching applications in industries where bacterial biofilms proliferate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:680117 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Freebairn, David Alexander |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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