Materiali innovativi per dispositivi medicali basati su superfici biofunzionalizzate e con proprietà Materiali innovativi per dispositivi medicali basati basati su superfici biofunzionalizzate e con propietà antivegetative

Vascular and urinary catheters are the most frequently used indwelling medical devices in the intensive care unit and in general medical wards. Despite the availability of drug/device combination products and antimicrobial therapies, device-related infections can be difficult to eradicate posing a severe threat to human health and excess of medical costs. Regularly, traditional therapies fail without removal of the implanted device. The most important factor in the pathogenesis of catheter-related infections is the formation of an adherent functional heterogenic microbial consortium embedded in a self-produced polymeric matrix called biofilm. Biofilm formation is an important cause of illness as the biofilm lifestyle is associated with the chronic nature of the infection, with the evasion to the host immune-response and with the enhanced resistant to medical treatments.

Given the less innovation in the field of antimicrobial discovery research and development over the past 20 years and the alarming incidence of recalcitrant device-related infections, the need for an innovative anti-infective material is becoming imperative. Using bio-inspired molecules we offer an elegant way to interfere with specific key-steps that orchestrate biofilm formation, disarming the microorganism without affecting its existence, sidestepping drug resistance and extending the efficacy of the current arsenal of antimicrobial agents. In this contest, zosteric acid, cis-decenoic acid and hydrolytic enzymes (glucanases, amylases, dextranases, proteases, lysozyme and DNAses), might be suitable for implementation as a preventive or integrative approach against device-related infections.

The general goal of the applied research project is to develop innovative antibiotic-free functionalized materials to resist infections of vascular and urinary catheters using compounds with known anti-biofilm activities. Initially, it will be necessary to prepare chemically modified anti-biofilm compounds in order to improve their affinity and retention on the surface. We will follow the chemical modifications and the anti-biofilm efficacy of the modified compounds by means of mass spectroscopy and quantitative biofilm assay using fluorochrome-labelled cells in black microplate wells. The methodology for anchoring the modified agents to the surface material will be optimised in order to guarantee the required efficacy and compatibility with the catheter substrata. In addition, we will investigate the activity, stability and retention of anti-biofilm compounds on the polymer surface via conductivity measurements, colorimetric assay and/or spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, to test the anti-biofilm properties of the innovative bio-hybrid materials will be critical to the project success. The antifouling performance will be tested against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans, selected as model systems for bacterial and fungal infections respectively. The efficacy of the new materials and their ability to enhance the susceptibility of microorganisms to traditional chemotherapies will be verified in biofilm reactors using elegant chemical and molecular techniques combined with microscopic investigations and sophisticated proteomic analysis.