Surface activation of medical grade polyurethane for the covalent immobilization of an anti-adhesive biopolymeric coating

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

Authors

Jorge Matinha Cardoso (Author) Other; Rita Mota (Author) Other; Luciana Gomes (Author) FEUP; Filipe Mergulhão (Author) FEUP; Paula Tamagnini (Author) FCUP; M. Cristina L. Martins (Author) Other; Fabíola Costa (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Journal of Materials Chemistry B

Vol. 9

Pages: 3705-3715

ISSN: 2050-7518

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 6 Citations

Scopus - 7 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00T-W21

DOI: 10.1039/d1tb00278c

Abstract (EN): Hospital-acquired infections are still a major concern worldwide, being frequently related to bacterial biofilm formation on medical devices, and thus difficult to eradicate with conventional antimicrobial treatments. Therefore, infection-preventive solutions based on natural polymers are being investigated. Recently, a marine cyanobacterium-derived polymeric coating (CyanoCoating) has demonstrated great anti-adhesive potential when immobilized onto gold model substrates. In this work, we took this technology a step closer to an industrial application by covalently immobilizing CyanoCoating onto medical grade polyurethane (PU). This immobilization was developed through the introduction of linkable moieties onto a PU inert surface using different pre-treatments. Besides the application of the polydopamine (pDA) linker layer, other processes frequently found in industrial settings, such as atmospheric plasma (using O-2 or N-2 as reactive gases) and ozone surface activations, were evaluated. From all the pre-treatments tested, the ozone activation was the most promising since the obtained coating not only revealed a homogeneous distribution, but also significantly reduced the adhesion of two relevant etiological bacteria in static conditions (the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative Escherichia coli). Moreover, it also impaired E. coli biofilm formation under simulated urinary tract dynamic conditions, reinforcing the potential of CyanoCoating as an antibiotic-free alternative to mitigate medical device-associated infections, particularly in the urinary tract.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 11