Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34115246›Full record

Article3D printing in medicine2021

Sterilization and sanitizing of 3D-printed personal protective equipment using polypropylene and a Single Wall design.

Karstan Luchini, Shelly N B Sloan, Ryan Mauro, Aspram Sargsyan, Aundrea Newman, Purnadeo Persaud, Daniel Hawkins, Dennis Wolff, Jeff Staudinger, Bradley A Creamer

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in 3D printing in medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Karstan LuchiniDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Shelly N B SloanDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Ryan MauroDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Aspram SargsyanDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Aundrea NewmanDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Purnadeo PersaudDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Daniel HawkinsLead Systems 3D Engineer- Nemotech LLC, Joplin, MO, USA.
Dennis WolffDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Jeff StaudingerDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA.
Bradley A CreamerDepartment of Basic Sciences, Kansas City University, College of Medicine, Farber-McIntire Campus, Joplin, MO, USA. bcreamer@kansascity.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0822-3001
Kansas City University · USMissouri Southern State University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic during the fall of 2019 and into the spring of 2020 has led to an increased demand of disposable N95 respirators and other types of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a way to prevent virus spread and help ensure the safety of healthcare workers. The sudden demand led to rapid modification, development, and dissemination of 3D printed PPE. The goal of this study was to determine the inherent sterility and re-sterilizing ability of 3D printed PPE in order to provide sterile equipment to the healthcare field and the general public.

methodsSamples of polylactic acid (PLA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) (infill-based designs) and polypropylene (single-wall hollow design) were 3D printed. Samples were inoculated with E. coli for 24 h and then sanitized using various chemical solutions or heat-based methods. The samples were then incubated for 24- or 72-h in sterile LB medium at 37°C, and bacterial growth was measured by optical density at 600nm. Statistical analysis was conducted using GraphPad Prism v8.2.1.

resultsSignificant bacterial growth was observed in all PLA and TPU based samples following re-sterilization, regardless of the methods used when compared to controls (p < 0.05). The single-walled hollow polypropylene design was not only sterile following printing, but was also able to undergo re-sanitization following bacterial inoculation, with no significant bacterial growth (p > 0.05) observed regardless of sanitization method used.

conclusionThe cost effectiveness, ease of sanitization, and reusability of 3D printed PPE, using our novel single-walled polypropylene design can help meet increased demands of PPE for healthcare workers and the general public that are needed to help decrease the viral transmission of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 3D printing also has the potential to lead to the creation and production of other sterile material items for the healthcare industry in the future. The ability to re-sterilize 3D printed PPE, as our design shows, would also contribute less to the increase in biomedical waste (BMW) being experienced by COVID-19.

Indexed as

Biomedical waste (BMW)COVID-19Fused filament fabrication (FFF)Personal protective equipment (PPE)Polylactic acid (PLA)Polypropylene (PP)ReusabilitySterilizeThermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)

Identifiers

PMID34115246
PMCPMC8193021
OpenAlexW3170821848

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.