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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

High-throughput Identification of Bacteria Repellent Polymers for Medical Devices
Published on: November 5, 2016
Peptide-like substances as antimicrobial barriers to Corynebacterium sp. adhesion to silicone catheters
M B C Fontana1, M C F Bastos, A Brandelli
1Laboratório de Bioquímica e Microbiologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ciência de Alimentos, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Aims:
To show medical application of antimicrobial peptides such as Pep5 and epidermin in inhibiting adhesion of Corynebacterium spp. to silicone catheters.
Methods And Results:
The inhibitory activity of crude preparations of Pep5 and epidermin was tested on Corynebacterium spp. isolated from catheter-related infections. The addition of these substances at 640 AU ml(-1) to a cell suspension of Corynebacterium sp. 633544 resulted in a decrease of 3 log cycles in the number of viable cells over a period of 12 h. When Pep5 and epidermin were added to in vitro catheter colonization experiments, there was a decrease of 1 log unit (P < 0.01) in the cell number of Corynebacterium spp. adhered to silicone catheters. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that antimicrobial-treated catheters presented zones with absence of adhered cells, and some parts of the catheter presented aggregates suggesting damaged cells.
Conclusions:
The crude preparations of Pep5 and epidermin were able to inhibit Corynebacterium sp. 633544 isolated from catheter-related infection. The capability of Pep5 and epidermin to inhibit catheter colonization may indicate their usefulness as a barrier to block or to reduce the bacteremia by Corynebacterium spp.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
Peptide-like antimicrobial substances used to reduce bacterial attachment to medical devices may represent a novel strategy to control catheter-related infections.
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