Degradable Antimicrobial Ureteral Stent Construction with Silver@graphdiyne Nanocomposite.

In the surgical treatment of urinary diseases, ureteral stents are commonly used interventional medical devices. Although polymer ureteral stents with polyurethane as the main constituent are widely used in the clinic, the need for secondary surgery to remove them and their propensity to cause bacterial infections greatly limit their effectiveness. To satisfy clinical requirements, we innovated an electrospinning-based strategy to fabricate PLGA ureteral stents with silver@graphdiyne. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles were uniformly loaded on the surface of graphdiyne (GDY) flakes. It was found that the incorporation of Ag nanoparticles into GDY markedly increased its antibacterial properties. Subsequently, we homogeneously blended the synthesized and purified Ag@GDY with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) as an antimicrobial agent, and electrospinning along with high-speed collectors was used to make tubular stents. The antibacterial effect of Ag@GDY and the porous microstructure of the stents can effectively prevent bacterial biofilm formation. Furthermore, the stents gradually decreased in toughness but increased in strength during the degradation process. The cellular and subcutaneous implantation experiments demonstrated the moderate biocompatibility of the stents. In summary, considering these performance characteristics and the technical feasibility of the approach taken, this study opens new possibilities for the design and application of biodegradable ureteral stents. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.