engleski

Applications of polyelectrolyte multilayers for the reduction of bacterial adhesion

Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) are very well known surface coatings which could be prepared by alternating deposition of positively and negatively charged polyelectrolytes (polycations and polyanions) on a solid surface. PEM build-up strongly depends on applied experimental conditions such as ionic strength, supporting electrolyte type, pH and concentration. In recent years we have developed new PEM strategies which could be valuable for designing soft nano materials whose properties can be finely tuned according to the requirements of specific applications, especially in the field of biomedicine. The emphasis in our studies was in the application of PEMs for the prevention of bacterial adhesion to various surfaces. We investigated the influence of polyelectrolyte multilayer properties on bacterial adhesion capacity, as well as the bacterial adhesion capacity of protein-terminating polyelectrolyte multilayers. We also applied this PEM strategy to study bacterial adhesion capacity of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to polyelectrolyte multilayer coated urinary catheter surface. In this case it was shown that on non-treated PVC surfaces, biofilm was formed which was not the case for polyelectrolyte multilayer coated surfaces.

polyelectrolyte multilayers, bacterial adhesion

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