Nitric Oxide Releasing Ultra Slippery Antibacterial Surfaces for Indewelling Catheter Applications

Although decades of research have been done to develop the ideal blood contacting catheters there still remains no long term solution that prevents infection and thrombosis As antibiotic resistant bacteria become more prevalent the traditional methods of treatment become more obsolete The proposed research is to combine the long term antibacterial efficacy of a silicone rubber S nitrosothiol based nitric oxide NO donor in combination with the liquid infusion of silicone oil to provide an ultra slippery interface to prevent bacteria and protein adhesion The fabricated catheters will be tested for cytotoxic effects against human cell lines to ensure it is safe for commercial use The antibacterial effectiveness of the catheters will be tested against two of the most common bacteria related to catheter infection methicillin resistant Staphlococcus aureus MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using a CDC biofilm reactor over a d period Our central hypothesis is that this combined NO liquid infused surface will have enhanced biocompatible properties by reducing the formation of biofilms through preventing bacteria adhesion while simultaneously improving its hemocompatible properties by reducing protein adsorption