In vitro assessment of bacterial adhesion to Hydromer-coated cerebrospinal fluid shunts

The adherence of five strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis and one strain of S. aureus to both untreated and Hydromer-coated silicone rubber cerebrospinal fluid shunts was studied in vitro using epifluorescent image analysis. All five strains of S. epidermidis showed similar levels of adherence to untreated shunts, whilst S. aureus adhered slightly better. The Hydromer coating, a hydrogel material which creates a hydrophilic layer on the shunt surface, was found to reduce bacterial adhesion levels by approximately 90% in the six strains of bacteria tested. Unfortunately, uniform coverage of the shunt surfaces (particularly internally) with Hydromer coating was not achieved during sample preparation. Bacterial adhesion levels in such areas were identical to untreated controls. This may pose problems in the in vivo use of Hydromer-coated shunts.