In vitro study on infectious ureteral encrustation resistance of Cu-bearing stainless steel

Cu-bearing stainless steel has been found to have obvious inhibition performance against encrustation in vitro. This study was aiming to further investigate the inhibitory effect of a Cu-bearing stainless steel (316L-Cu SS) on the infectious encrustation based on its antimicrobial activity. The encrustation in presence of bacteria, antibacterial performance, urease production and Ca and Mg precipitation were examined by scanning electron microscopy, antibacterial assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, respectively. It was found that 316L-Cu SS could inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilm due to the release of Cu2+ ions and then decrease the urease amount splitting by bacteria, which produced a neutral environment with pH around 7. However, more encrustations coupled with bacterial biofilms on the surface of comparison stainless steel (316L SS) with an alkaline environment were recorded. It can thus be seen that the 316L-Cu SS highlights prominent superiority against encrustation in the presence of microorganisms.