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Novel polymer coating reduced catheter's bacteria spread
An inexpensive synthetic coating could reduce the presence of bacteria on biomedical devices, according to recently published data.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh fabricated polymer microarrays by contact printing of preformed polymers and cultured a variety of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria on the arrays to identify potentially repellent polymers. The most promising polymers were then spin-coated onto glass coverslips and assessed for binding using the previous bacteria mixtures.
From this, the polyacrylates PA13 and PA515 (methoxyethylmethacrylate-co-diethylaminoethylacrylate-co-methylmethacrylate) were found to exhibit the lowest bacteria binding. These, along with the control polyacrylate PA155 (poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate-co-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate)), were coated onto a polyurethane-based multi-lumen central intravenous catheter (Cath-1) and a silicone-based double lumen catheter (Cath-2).
“Bacteria account for the majority of nosocomial infections and adhesion of bacteria to a surface, such as a catheter, is an essential step in the process,” the researchers wrote. “Since medical devices often contribute to nosocomial infections, there is an interest to render the surface of these devices resistant to bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation.”
Although both tested polyacrylates improved resistance to bacterial binding compared with uncoated catheters, devices coated with PA13 had the greatest reduction regardless of bacteria species tested. PA515 reduced coverage by as much as 90% and 70% on Cath-1 and Cath-2, respectively, while PA13 reduced coverage by 96% and 91% on the same devices.
“Coating with PA13 was found to significantly reduce bacterial binding when compared to uncoated catheters as analyzed by confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This study shows that polymers such as PA13, identified through a high-throughput screening approach, have potential as antibiotic-free bacteria-repellent coatings for medical devices,” the researchers concluded.”
Disclosure: Infectious Disease News could not confirm disclosures at the time of publication.