Tympanostomy tube otorrhea (TTO) is a frequent complication associated with tympanostomy tube (TT) insertion in young children. Despite the standard treatment using topical antibiotics, TTO is often persistent or recurrent due to biofilm development on TT. In this study, we developed a novel antimicrobial blue light (aBL; 405nm) activatable Optical-TT, which emits aBL from the entire TT surface to kill major otopathogens in biofilms on TT. Our preliminary results showed that the Optical-TT activated by aBL led to over 2.5-log10 CFU reduction in 120 h-old H. influenzae films and 48 h-old P. aeruginosa biofilms formed on TT after 30 J/cm2 aBL and in 48 h-old S. aureus biofilms formed on TT after 60 J/cm2, implying the potential of aBL-activable Optical-TT in the management of TTO. Animal studies using a chinchilla model of TTO are currently underway.
The development of quantum cascade lasers that span mid-infrared wavelengths necessitate developing new infrared fibers capable of transmitting light in the 3 ‒ 12 micron range. The main material candidates for producing infrared fibers that cover this spectral region are polycrystalline silver halides and glassy tellurium-based chalcogenide glasses. The latter are more chemically stable, and thus represent a superior choice for infrared fibers. We adapt a fiber fabrication methodology that we recently developed for other chalcogenide glasses to tellurium-based chalcogenides. We introduce a novel infrared optical fiber with tellurium-based chalcogenide core and cladding, which is provided with a built-in polymer jacket. We prepare purified Ge-As-Se-Te glasses that are used in extruding a preform. This preform is then thermally drawn continuously in an ambient environment into extended robust infrared fibers that transmit light in the 3 ‒ 12 micron spectral range.
We describe a novel fabrication method for producing polymer, glass, and metal micro- and nano-particles whose
diameters range from 200 microns to under 50 nanometers. This method relies on the Rayleigh capillary instability
in a multi-material fiber. The fiber core is made of the target material and has size close to the desired particle
diameter embedded in a sacrificial polymer matrix. The fiber temperature is elevated to reduce the core viscosity
and the Rayleigh instability results in the breakup of the core into a periodic string of spherical particles.
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