Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are the most common hospital-acquired infections worldwide, aggravating the problem of antimicrobial resistance and patient morbidity.
There is a need for a potent and robust antimicrobial coating for catheters to prevent these infections. An ideal coating agent should possess high antimicrobial efficacy and be easily and economically conjugated to the catheter surface. In this study, we report a simple yet effective immobilization strategy to tether a potent synthetic antimicrobial peptide, CWR11, onto catheter-relevant surfaces. Polydopamine (PD) was deposited as a thin adherent film onto a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface to facilitate attachment of CWR11 onto the PD-functionalized polymer. Surface characterization of the CWR11-tethered surfaces confirmed the successful immobilization of peptides onto the PD-coated PDMS. The CWR11-immobilized PDMS slides displayed excellent antimicrobial (significant inhibition of 5×104 colony-forming units of CAUTI-relevant microbes) and antibiofilm (∼92% enhanced antibacterial adherence) properties. To assess its clinical relevance, the PD-based immobilization platform was translated onto commercial silicone-coated Foley catheters. The CWR11-impregnated catheter displayed potent bactericidal properties against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and retained its antimicrobial functionality for at least 21days, showing negligible cytotoxicity against human erythrocyte and uroepithelial cells. The outcome of this study demonstrates the proof-of-concept potential of a polydopamine-CWR11-functionalized catheter to combat CAUTIs.
Written by:
Lim K, Chua RR, Bow H, Tambyah PA, Hadinoto K, Leong SS. Are you the author?
School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, 637459 Singapore, Singapore; Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 1E Kent Ridge Road, 119228 Singapore, Singapore; Department of Microbiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, 117545 Singapore, Singapore; Singapore Institute of Technology, 10 Dover Drive, 138683 Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, 117597 Singapore, Singapore; Synthetic Biology Research Consortium, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, 117456 Singapore, Singapore. ;
Reference: Acta Biomater. 2014 Dec 23. pii: S1742-7061(14)00579-0.
doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.12.015
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25541344