title: Antifouling polyurethanes to fight device-related staphylococcal infections: synthesis, characterization, and antibiofilm efficacy.
abstract: In hospital settings, biofilm-based medical device-related infections are considered a threat to patients, the sessile growing bacteria playing a key role in the spreading of healthcare-associated infections. In recent decades, the design of antifouling coatings for medical devices able to prevent microbial adhesiveness has emerged as one of the most promising strategies to face this important issue. In order to obtain suitable antifouling materials, segmented polyurethanes characterized by a hard/soft domain structure, having the same hard domain but a variable soft domain, have been synthesized. The soft domain was constituted by one of the following macrodiols: polypropylenoxide (PPO), polycaprolactide (PCL), and poly-l-lactide (PLA). The effects of the polymer hydrophilicity and the degree of hard/soft domain separation on antifouling properties of the synthesized polyurethanes were investigated. Microbial adherence assays evidenced as the polymers containing PCL or PLA were able to significantly reduce the adhesion of Staphylococcus epidermidis with respect to the PPO-containing polymer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Iolanda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Francolini
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Donelli
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vuotto
authors.forename: Fabrizio Alessandro
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Baroncini
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stoodley
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Taresco
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martinelli
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: D'Ilario
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piozzi
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D004864:Equipment and Supplies / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D011140:Polyurethanes
keywords: Staphylococcus epidermidis; antifouling coatings; infections; medical devices; microbial biofilms; polyurethanes