生物組織材料在臨床上，可以用來暫時性或永久性的取代病人缺損的組織或器官。這些生物組織材料在經過適當的交聯劑交聯處理後，可以減低這些異種生物組織材料來源的抗原性，並增加生物組織材料在植入人體後抵抗酵素分解的能力。然而這些經過交聯劑化學修飾的生物組織材料，在植入人體之前仍需經過適當的滅菌處理，以大量減少或完全去除材料上所帶有的微生物，避免病人遭受致病微生物的感染。然而目前臨床上對於生物組織材料，尚未有一個理想、適合的滅菌方法。
本實驗室目前正著手研究一種新的天然滅菌劑-Reuterin。Reuterin是由人或動物的腸胃道所分離出的乳酸菌Lactobacillus reuteri在厭氧的狀態下發酵glycerol後所產生的滅菌物質。其抑菌作用機制可能與RNA氧化還原

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