Facile synthesis and coating of aqueous antifouling polymers for inhibiting pathogenic bacterial adhesion on medical devices

Abstract

Bacterial colonization in the form of biofilms on surfaces causes persistent infections and is an issue of considerable concern to healthcare providers. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel modification of antibiofilm surfaces on polymeric medical devices to inhibit pathogenic bacterial adhesion. Herein, we describe the development of water-soluble, antifouling polymers (APs) containing benzene moieties capable of anchoring to hydrophobic surfaces and hydrophilic poly (ethylene) glycol and carboxyl groups to inhibit pathogenic bacterial adhesion on polymeric medical devices. We found that the optimized APs could be facilely and controllably synthesized on and modify the surfaces of commercial hydrophobic substrates in aqueous solution, with the resulting polymer-coated surfaces capable of efficiently preventing pathogenic bacterial adhesion and subsequent bacterial colonization as precursors to biofilm formation. These results suggest the potential efficacy of the developed and optimized polymers for use as an antibiofilm platform to inhibit healthcare-associated infections on various polymer-based medical devices.