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Author García Bonillo, María Cristina |
Abstract In this thesis, a bacteriophobic urinary Foley catheter has been developed. The bacteriophobic effect is based on a homogeneous super-hydrophobic coating with a specific micro- and nanostructure covered by a homogeneous metallic silver film, which create an uncomfortable environment for bacteria, avoiding bacterial attachment to the surface but without causing any effect on bacterial growth. To achieve this, a set of super-hydrophobic nanostructured coatings based on different polymers has been developed. Plasma-polymerized pentafluorophenyl methacrylate (pp-PFM) and Polydopamine (PDA) have been used as base polymers, being coated with a thin film of metallic silver. All of them showed a reduction in bacterial adhesion between 4 and 6 orders of magnitude regarding the uncoated PDMS, as well as the ability to repel protein adhesion in in vitro tests. The PDA-silver coating was selected to be implemented on the urinary catheter. This urinary catheter has been shown to maintain the bacteriophobic effect for 30 days in vitro, tested with simulation-use tests in flow and static conditions, using uropathogenic bacterial strains and clinical isolates. Moreover, the catheter has been validated in vivo using catheterized pigs as animal model for 15 days. During this period, the catheter has been able to maintain bacterial adhesion 2 orders of magnitude lower than commercial standard or antimicrobial catheters. |
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Director Borrós Gómez, Salvador |
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Departament IQS SE - Bioenginyeria |
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Date of defense 2021-06-11
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