Lipase degradation of plasticized polyvinyl chloride endotracheal tube surfaces to create nanoscale features

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) endotracheal tubes (ETTs) nanoetched with a fungal lipase have been shown to reduce bacterial growth and biofilm formation and could be an inexpensive solution to the complex problem of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Although bacterial growth and colonization on these nanoetched materials have been well characterized, little is known about the mechanism by which the fungal lipase degrades the PVC and, thus, alters its properties to minimize bacteria functions. This study used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) to better describe the surface chemistry of both unetched and lipase nanoetched PVC ETT. ATR-FTIR analysis of the unetched and treated surfaces showed a similar presence of a plasticizer. This was confirmed by XPS analysis, which showed an increase of carbon and the presence of oxygen on both unetched and nanoetched surfaces. A quantitative comparison of the FTIR spectra revealed significant correlations (Pearson's correlation, R=0.997 [R²=0.994, P<0.001]) between the unetched and nanomodified PVC ETT spectra, demonstrating similar surface chemistry. This analysis showed no shifting or widening of the bands in the spectra and no significant changes in the intensity of the infrared peaks due to the degradation of the plasticizer by the fungal lipase. In contrast, results from this study did demonstrate significantly increased nanoscale surface features on the lipase etched compared to non-etched PVC ETTs. This led to a change in surface energetics, which altered ion adsorption to the ETTs. Thus, these results showed that PVC surfaces nanoetched with a 0.1% lipase solution for 48 hours have no significant change on surface chemistry but do significantly increase nanoscale surface roughness and alters ion adsorption, which suggests that the unique properties of these materials, including their previously reported ability to decrease bacterial adhesion and growth, are due to the changes in the degree of the nanoscale roughness, not changes in their surface chemistry.