Antibiofilm and antibacterial coating based on hydrogel and polyaniline on catheters and evaluation of their properties

Abstract

Long-term indwelling urinary catheters are associated with complications like infection and encrustation, which have brought patients burdens of health problems. Considering the damages caused by urinary tract infections, the development of antibiofilm catheter coatings is a practical way to address this issue. Herein, we developed a polyaniline hydrogel-based coating for stabilizing silver nanoparticles resulting in a high-performance antibiofilm catheter. Materials and Method For this purpose, silicone catheters were functionalized with OH groups and then 2- hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was polymerized on the catheter by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The OH groups of PHEMA were converted into amine groups by reaction with para-anthranilic acid, and in the next step, polyaniline was produced by oxidation-reduction polymerization. In order to investigate the synergistic effects of Ag nanoparticles on the antibacterial property of polyaniline, Ag nanoparticles were coated on polyaniline. Coated catheters were evaluated at each step using attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results: A hydrophilic PHEMA-PANI-Ag-coated catheter was developed with excellent thermal stability, antibacterial and antibiofilm properties against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa during 24 and 48 hours and also improved biocompatibility on L929 fibroblast cells.