Understanding the Role of Nanoscale Topography of Polymer Surfaces on Protein Adsorption and Bacterial Adhesion for Reducing Catheter- Associated Infections

摘要

Catheter-associated infections (CAIs), most of which are caused by microbial biofilms, are still a major problem in health-care and are associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and medical cost. Currently, the use of nanomaterials or creating nanofeatured topographies on material surfaces seem to be among the most promising ways for reducing initial bacteria attachment, biofilm formation and infections. Many researchers have confirmed that nanofeatured surface topographies are a potent tool for selectively increasing desirable cell functions while simultaneously decreasing competitive cell functions. Also, natural surfaces, such as cicada wing surfaces, appear to be bactericidal to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was thought to be due to the surface nanostructure of the wing rather than a surface chemical effect. Motivated by these findings, in this study, our objective was to modify the raw surface of a catheter composed of polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS to possess antibacterial nanostructures, and then to develop a model that can correlate nanosurface roughness and associated surface energy with protein adsorption and bacterial adhesion.