Develop an antibiofilm coating for polydimethylsiloxane (pdms) catheters by incorporating both antibacterial and antifouling properties

Abstract

In modern hospitals, catheters have become indispensable as such Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) have become the most prevalent nosocomial infections. The leading cause of CAUTIs is the formation of biofilm by bacteria in catheters which are difficult to treat once they are formed due to a strong resistance to antibiotics and the host immune system. In this study the aim is to prevent biofilm formation by coating a surface to express both antibacterial and antifouling properties. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is extensively used to make urinary catheters and will be base surface to be modified. The initial layer that was deposited onto the PDMS surface is polydopamine (PDA) due to its versatility of having an amine and catechol group. Polyaminopropyl biguanide (PHMB) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) are bound onto the PDA layer to the express antibacterial and antifouling properties respectively. Lastly, Staphylococcus aureus was used to test the efficacy of the coating.