In Europe, the mean incidence of urinary tract infections in intensive care units is 1.1 per 1000 patient‐days. Of these cases, catheter‐associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) account for 98%. In total, CAUTI in hospitals is estimated to give additional health‐care costs of £1–2.5 billion in the United Kingdom alone. This is in sharp contrast to the low cost of urinary catheters and emphasizes the need for innovative products that reduce the incidence rate of CAUTI. Ureteral stents and other urinary‐tract devices suffer similar problems. Antimicrobial strategies are being developed, however, the evaluation of their efficacy is very challenging. This review aims to provide considerations and recommendations covering all relevant aspects of antimicrobial material testing, including surface characterization, biocompatibility, cytotoxicity, in vitro and in vivo tests, microbial strain selection, and hydrodynamic conditions, all in the perspective of complying to the complex pathology of device‐associated urinary tract infection. The recommendations should be on the basis of standard assays to be developed which would enable comparisons of results obtained in different research labs both in industry and in academia, as well as provide industry and academia with tools to assess the antimicrobial properties for urinary tract devices in a reliable way.

Background: The well-recognized but not fully explored antioxidant activity of marine-biota-derived, biologically active substances has led to interest in their study as substitutes of antibiotics, antiaging agents, anticancer and antiviral drugs, and others. The aim of this review is to present the current state of the art of marine-biota-derived antioxidants to give some ideas for potential industrial applications. Methods: This review is an update for the last 5 years on the marine sources of natural antioxidants, different classes antioxidant compounds, and current derivation biotechnologies. Results: New marine sources of antioxidants, including byproducts and wastes, are presented, along with new antioxidant substances and derivation approaches. Conclusions: The interest in high-value antioxidants from marine biota continues. Natural substances combining antioxidant and antimicrobial action are of particular interest because of the increasing microbial resistance to antibiotic treatments. New antioxidant substances are discovered, along with those extracted from marine biota collected in other locations. Byproducts and wastes provide a valuable source of antioxidant substances. The application of optimized non-conventional derivation approaches is expected to allow the intensification of the production and improvement in the quality of the derived substances. The ability to obtain safe, high-value products is of key importance for potential industrialization.

Microbial adhesion and biofilm formation is a common, nondesirable phenomenon at any living or nonliving material surface in contact with microbial species. Despite the enormous efforts made so far, the protection of material surfaces against microbial adhesion and biofilm formation remains a significant challenge. Deposition of antimicrobial coatings is one approach to mitigate the problem. Examples of such are those based on heparin, cationic polymers, antimicrobial peptides, drug-delivering systems, and other coatings, each one with its advantages and shortcomings. The increasing microbial resistance to the conventional antimicrobial treatments leads to an increasing necessity for new antimicrobial agents, among which is a variety of carbon nanomaterials. The current review paper presents the last 5 years’ progress in the development of graphene antimicrobial materials and graphene-based antimicrobial coatings that are among the most studied. Brief information about the significance of the biofouling, as well as the general mode of development and composition of microbial biofilms, are included. Preparation, antibacterial activity, and bactericidal mechanisms of new graphene materials, deposition techniques, characterization, and parameters influencing the biological activity of graphene-based coatings are focused upon. It is expected that this review will raise some ideas for perfecting the composition, structure, antimicrobial activity, and deposition techniques of graphene materials and coatings in order to provide better antimicrobial protection of medical devices.