Light-Activated Antimicrobial Surfaces Using Industrial Varnish Formulations to Mitigate the Incidence of Nosocomial Infections

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Madson R. E. Santos (Author) Other; Patrícia V. Mendonça (Author) Other; Rita Branco (Author) Other; Ruben Sousa (Author) Other; Carla Dias (Author) Other; Arménio C. Serra (Author) Other; José R. Fernandes (Author) Other; Fernão D. Magalhães (Author) FEUP; Paula V. Morais (Author) Other; Jorge F. J. Coelho (Author) Other

Journal

Title: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Vol. 13

Pages: 7567-7579

ISSN: 1944-8244

Publisher: American Chemical Society

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 13 Citations

Scopus - 16 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00T-EPR

DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c18930

Abstract (EN): Evidence has shown that hospital surfaces are one of the major vehicles of nosocomial infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens. Smart surface coatings presenting multiple antimicrobial activity mechanisms have emerged as an advanced approach to safely prevent this type of infection. In this work, industrial waterborne polyurethane varnish formulations containing for the first time cationic polymeric biocides (SPBs) combined with photosensitizer curcumin were developed to afford contact-active and light-responsive antimicrobial surfaces. SPBs were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization, which allows control over the polymer features that influence antimicrobial efficiency (e.g., molecular weight), while natural curcumin was employed to impart photodynamic activity to the surface. Antibacterial testing against Gram-negative Escherichia coli revealed that glass surfaces coated with the new formulations displayed photokilling effect under white-light (42 mW/cm(2)) irradiation within only 15 min of exposure. In addition, it was observed a combined antimicrobial effect between the two biocides (cationic SPB and curcumin), with a higher reduction in the number of viable bacteria observed for the surfaces containing cationic SPB/curcumin mixtures in comparison with the one obtained for surfaces only with polymer or without biocides. The waterborne industrial varnish formulations allowed the formation of homogeneous films without the need for addition of a coalescing agent, which can be potentially applied in diverse surface substrates to reduce bacterial transmission infections in healthcare environments.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 13