Advanced Biomaterial for Preventing Catheter-Associated Infections

Our new idea in Advanced Biomaterial for Preventing Catheter-Associated Infections at University of Dundee  is to combine the anti-bacterial property of silver and anti-adhesive property of PTFE in a single coating by incorporating PTFE nano-particles into a silver matrix using a cost-effective electroless deposition technique. 

Context of  Advanced Biomaterial for Preventing Catheter-Associated Infections Advanced Biomaterial for Preventing Catheter-Associated Infections at University of Dundee University of Dundee

The aim of the proposed research is to develop the novel silver-PTFE nanocomposite coatings on full-length Foley catheters and to evaluate their anti-biofilm properties and anti-encrustation formation in a simulated in vivo environment mimicking human bladder and long-term catheterisation. 

The research proposal will focus on the achievement of the following specific objectives:

• To coat urinary catheters with a layer of Ag-PTFE nano-composite coatings using the electroless plating system available at the Biomaterial Research Centre
• To evaluate the anti-stick and anti-bacterial properties of the nano-coatings using a Fluorescent Microscope, as compared with existing uncoated/coated catheters
• To characterize the surface properties of the coatings using SEM, XPS and OCA-20 etc
• To evaluate anti-bacterial and anti-encrustation performance of coated catheters with bladder models that mimic human bladder
• To produce the complete prototypes- novel silver-PTFE coated catheters with anti-bacterial properties, which are suitable for clinical trials