Plasma Mediated Chlorhexidine Immobilization onto Polylactic Acid Surface via Carbodiimide Chemistry: Antibacterial and Cytocompatibility Assessment

Abstract

The development of antibacterial materials has great importance in avoiding bacterial contamination and the risk of infection for implantable biomaterials. An antibacterial thin film coating on the surface via chemical bonding is a promising technique to keep native bulk material properties unchanged. However, most of the polymeric materials are chemically inert and highly hydrophobic, which makes chemical agent coating challenging Herein, immobilization of chlorhexidine, a broad-spectrum bactericidal cationic compound, onto the polylactic acid surface was performed in a multistep physicochemical method. Direct current plasma was used for surface functionalization, followed by carbodiimide chemistry to link the coupling reagents of N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDAC) and N-Hydroxysuccinimide (NHs) to create a free bonding site to anchor the chlorhexidine. Surface characterizations were performed by water contact angle test, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The antibacterial activity was tested using Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Finally, in vitro cytocompatibility of the samples was studied using primary mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. It was found that all samples were cytocompatible and the best antibacterial performance observed was the Chlorhexidine immobilized sample after NHs activation.

A New In Vitro Blood Flow Model for the Realistic Evaluation of Antimicrobial Surfaces

“…Many antimicrobial strategies have been developed to prevent bacterial colonization of vascular devices. They can be classified into three distinct categories: antiadhesive materials that prevent bacterial adherence by repulsion, [ 5 ] contact‐killing materials that destroy adherent bacteria by coupled biocides, [ 6 ] and release‐based materials that deliver bactericidal agents to the environment. [ 7 ] Especially release‐based materials are already successfully applied in clinical practice.…”