Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), caused by the biofilm formation on the indwelling catheters, worsen the problem with the resistance development, being the most common infections in the patients in health care facilities. Bacterial biofilms account for 60 % of CAUTIs and are global treat to the human health due to their resistance to antibiotics, leading to increased time of hospitalization, significant medical costs and poor treatment outcomes. In this work, urinary catheters were simultaneously coated with antibiofilm enzyme amylase and antibacterial zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) in a one-step ultrasound assisted process. The coating of these two compounds on the same surfaces resulted in a strong synergism and significantly reduced the biofilm formation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by 80 % and 60 %, respectively. Moreover, the engineered nanocoatings demonstrated stability and impeded the bacterial attachment and biofilm formation on the catheters in an in vitro model of catheterized bladder for up to seven days. The developed coated catheters did not induced toxicity towards human fibroblast cells line BJ-5ta, HaCaT keratinocytes, and demonstrated 100 % biocompatibility. The nano-engineered ZnO/enzyme coating prevented the early onset of CAUTI and demonstrated biosafety in an in vivo rabbit model, compared to the non-treated catheter. Taken together, such catheter with dual active hybrid coating of amylase and ZnO NPs could be promising strategy for prevention and control the CAUTIs.

Simultaneous sonochemical functionalization of urinary catheters with biofilm matrix degrading amylase and antibacterial zinc oxide nanoparticles for prevention of bacterial infections

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.