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Protection of catheter surfaces from adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by a combination of silver ions and lectins

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Abstract

A catheter surface was modified by coating a cellulose acetate polymer. Adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 to the surface was investigated by exposing bacterial cultures to three treatments: polymer impregnated with silver ions (Ag+), polymer surfaces coated with lectins and a combination of Ag+ and a lectin coating. The effective concentration of Ag+ providing protection against bacterial biofilm development was 100μg/ml and higher. Lectins alone at 10% also showed inhibition of bacterial attachment. However, the best result was achieved against bacterial adhesion and growth on surfaces using a combination of 100 μg Ag+/ml and a lectin coating as a surface treatment. This surface treatment was also effective against both fresh culture and a two-week-old culture containing P. aeruginosa producing exopolymers. Our results suggest that Ag+impregnation combined with a lectin coating warrants further investigation as a potential means of protecting catheters.

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  1. Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 40 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Ji-Dong Gu, Brook Belay & Ralph Mitchell

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  1. Ji-Dong Gu
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  2. Brook Belay
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Gu, JD., Belay, B. & Mitchell, R. Protection of catheter surfaces from adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by a combination of silver ions and lectins. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 17, 173–179 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016687630330

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