SBIR/STTR Phase I: Hybrid Coatings for Dental Biofilm Control

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to synthesize and test lubricious/antimicrobial coatings to prevent biofilm formation in dental water lines. Microbial contamination of water delivered by dental-unit water systems continues to be a significant problem. The most common cause of dental-unit contamination is believed to be the formation and subsequent sloughing off of microbial biofilm from the surfaces of tubing within dental-unit water systems. Persons who are immunocompromised may be at risk due to some opportunistic microorganisms present in most biofilm. Contaminated water may be ingested by the patient or be aerosolized and inhaled by the patient or dental worker. During the Phase I research, antimicrobial monomers will be incorporated into copolymers with additional monomers, that upon wetting, cause the coating to become quite lubricious. The coatings will be tested in order to evaluate their effectiveness in preventing biofilm formation. The lubricious component will help prevent microbial attachment while the antimicrobial constituent will eradicate microorganisms on contact. The antimicrobial and lubricious parts of the coating are expected to perform synergistically when used in combination in order to significantly inhibit biofilm formation. The commercial applications of this project will be in a number of areas, including medical, industrial, marine and consumer products. Specific examples include the following: medical coatings for catheters, stents, endoscopes, implants and endotracheal tubes; various industrial coatings; food/beverage packaging; coatings for ship hulls; and coatings for various consumer products.