Bacteria repelling poly(methylmethacrylate-co-dimethylacrylamide) coatings for biomedical devices† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Polymer microarray screening, including analysis of bacterial adhesion by fluorescence microscopy and SEM, and chemical composition of bacteria repelling polymers identified in the screen; polymer synthesis and characterisation; preparation of catheter pieces and solvent studies, and details for confocal imaging/analysis. See DOI: 10.1039/c4tb0

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. B, Materials for biology and medicine Vol. 2; no. 39; pp. 6723 - 6729
• Main Authors: Venkateswaran, Seshasailam, Wu, Mei, Gwynne, Peter J., Hardman, Ailsa, Lilienkampf, Annamaria, Pernagallo, Salvatore, Blakely, Garry, Swann, David G., Gallagher, Maurice P., Bradley, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Royal Society of Chemistry 02.09.2014
• Subjects: Chemistry
• ISSN: 2050-750X; 2050-7518
• DOI: 10.1039/c4tb01129e

A polymer microarray screen identified poly(methylmethacrylate- co -dimethylacrylamide) as a bacteria repelling surface, which substantially reduced binding of bacteria on coated catheters. Nosocomial infections due to bacteria have serious implications on the health and recovery of patients in a variety of medical scenarios. Since bacterial contamination on medical devices contributes to the majority of nosocomical infections, there is a need for redesigning the surfaces of medical devices, such as catheters and tracheal tubes, to resist the binding of bacteria. In this work, polyurethanes and polyacrylates/acrylamides, which resist binding by the major bacterial pathogens underpinning implant-associated infections, were identified using high-throughput polymer microarrays. Subsequently, two ‘hit’ polymers, PA13 (poly(methylmethacrylate- co -dimethylacrylamide)) and PA515 (poly(methoxyethylmethacrylate- co -diethylaminoethylacrylate- co -methylmethacrylate)), were used to coat catheters and substantially shown to decrease binding of a variety of bacteria (including isolates from infected endotracheal tubes and heart valves from intensive care unit patients). Catheters coated with polymer PA13 showed up to 96% reduction in bacteria binding in comparison to uncoated catheters.