Bioswitchable Antibacterial Coatings Enable Self‐Sterilization of Implantable Healthcare Dressings

Abstract

Healthcare‐acquired bacterial infections are a threat to public health. Therefore, development of self‐sterilizing implantable dressing materials is in increasing demand. Herein, a series of quaternized triblock copolymers, namely, QP‐b‐PCL‐b‐QPs, are synthesized and self‐assembled into reverse micelles (RMs) in tetrahydrofuran. The RMs contain biocompatible poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) blocks in the shell to render biosafety and responsiveness, and biocidal quaternary blocks in the core to render antibacterial activity. In the presence of bacterial lipase, the biodegradable PCL blocks are hydrolyzed, resulting in the responsive release of quaternary biocidal agents (QBAs) to enable self‐sterilization. The RMs can be facilely impregnated into commercial gelatin sponge (GS) to fabricate RM2‐coated GS, which impose potent antibacterial activity in the presence of lipase. Compared to Gram‐negative P. aeruginosa, the Gram‐positive S. aureus and B. subtilis are more susceptible to QBAs released from RM2‐coated GS. The in vivo antibacterial assays and histological analyses further confirm the validity of RM2‐coated GS in reducing bacterial infection in mice model. These results, taken together, provide a promising strategy for the development of bioswitchable self‐sterilizing dressing materials to reduce healthcare‐acquired bacterial infections.

Surface Design for Antibacterial Materials: From Fundamentals to Advanced Strategies

“…The bacteria then aggregate, degenerate flagella, and begin to secrete extracellular matrix (ECM) to achieve irreversible adhesion to the surface. [ 13 ] Therefore, it is reasonable to develop effective strategies interfering with the interactions between the bacteria and the material's surface, [ 14 ] which can be achieved by altering the morphology, hardness, roughness, and chemical constituents, and in turn, hindering the communication between bacteria and finally, delaying biofilm formation. [ 15 ] During the past decades, the number of publications related to the terms “antimicrobial surfaces”, “implantable device infection” and “biofilm” is increasing continuously.…”

The effect of alkyl chain length of (R)-3-Hydroxybutyric alkyl ester on antibacterial activity and its antibacterial mechanism

“…3 To solve this problem, researchers actively design and synthesize new antibacterial agents and material, 4,5 including antimicrobial peptides, 6 cationic polymers, 7 carbon-based nanomaterials, 8,9 and inorganic nanoparticles. 10,11 At present, organic antimicrobial agents are widely used in agriculture, medicine, food, and industries. Among, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are the main representative of organic antimicrobial agents due to the high sterilization efficiency and wide source.…”

Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for bacterial biofilm treatment

“…Cationic polymers with antibacterial property have also been proved promising for combating pathogenic bacteria, which could be further combined with enzyme-responsive polymers for preparation of many intriguing polymer nanomaterials [ 36 , 37 ]. By using poly (ε-caprolactone (PCL) and quaternary as corresponding enzyme degradable shell and bactericidal core, a series of reverse polymer micelles (RMs) were synthesized by Xu et al [ 38 ]. The PCL blocks in RMs were efficiently hydrolyzed in the presence of bacterial lipases, leading to the release of quaternary biocidal agents (QBAs).…”