1 research outputs found
Liquid-Infused Silicone As a Biofouling-Free Medical Material
There
is a dire need for infection prevention strategies that do
not require the use of antibiotics, which exacerbate the rise of multi-
and pan-drug resistant infectious organisms. An important target in
this area is the bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation
on medical devices (e.g., catheters). Here we describe nonfouling,
lubricant-infused slippery polymers as proof-of-concept medical materials
that are based on oil-infused polydimethylsiloxane (iPDMS). Planar
and tubular geometry silicone substrates can be infused with nontoxic
silicone oil to create a stable, extremely slippery interface that
exhibits exceptionally low bacterial adhesion and prevents biofilm
formation. Analysis of a flow culture of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> through untreated PDMS and iPDMS tubing shows at least an order
of magnitude reduction of biofilm formation on iPDMS, and almost complete
absence of biofilm on iPDMS after a gentle water rinse. The iPDMS
materials can be applied as a coating on other polymers or prepared
by simply immersing silicone tubing in silicone oil, and are compatible
with traditional sterilization methods. As a demonstration, we show
the preparation of silicone-coated polyurethane catheters and significant
reduction of <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Staphylococcus
epidermidis</i> biofilm formation on the catheter surface. This
work represents an important first step toward a simple and effective
means of preventing bacterial adhesion on a wide range of materials
used for medical devices