Stable Dual-Functional Coating on Polyurethane Surface by Grafting Antibacterial-Zwitterionic Copolymer

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry
• Surface Science

Background:

• Medical catheters are prone to bacterial biofilm adhesion and thrombus formation, complicating clinical treatments.
• Antifouling and antibacterial coatings offer a viable strategy to mitigate these issues on medical devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile and eco-friendly dual-functional coating for polyurethane (PU) medical devices.
• To impart antifouling and antibacterial properties to PU surfaces for improved clinical performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized an antibacterial-zwitterionic copolymer (PMDG) using 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (DADMAC), and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) via one-pot aqueous polymerization.
• Grafted the PMDG copolymer onto polydopamine/polyethylenimine (PDA/PEI) pretreated PU substrates through a ring-opening reaction.
• Evaluated surface hydrophilicity, protein adsorption resistance, antibacterial activity, stability, biocompatibility, and hemocompatibility of the modified PU surfaces.

Main Results:

• The P/P-PMDG coating significantly increased surface hydrophilicity, reducing water contact angle from 85.95° to 18.25°.
• Demonstrated excellent resistance to protein adsorption and achieved up to 99% bactericidal activity.
• The coating's efficacy was maintained after 4 weeks of immersion in PBS and 3 reuse cycles, showing excellent biocompatibility and hemocompatibility.

Conclusions:

• The developed dual-functional coating provides a promising strategy for surface modification of medical polymeric devices.
• The antibacterial-zwitterionic copolymer coating effectively enhances biofouling resistance and antibacterial efficiency.
• This approach offers a robust solution for improving the safety and performance of medical catheters.