An Automated Technique for in Vitro Assessment of the Susceptibility of Urinary Catheter Materials to Encrustation

Abstract

An automated technique has been developed for assessing the extent to which existing or potential materials for the construction of indwelling catheters become encrusted during exposure to infected urine. In this technique the enzyme urease is added to artificial urine containing albumin in a reaction vessel which contains the samples to be tested. Controlled replacement of reactants leads to appreciable formation of encrusting deposits which adhere firmly to the surface of the test samples. Deposits have the same chemical composition as those which encrust catheters in vivo.