Antimicrobial cationic surfactant-loaded hydrogel coatings in preventing medical device-associated infections

Hydrogels described herein were developedas anti-microbial coating materials. Three different hydrogels, p(HEMA), p(85%HEMA-co-15% MMA) and p(85% HEMA-co-15% MAA) were loaded with twocationic surfactant, BAK and DDAB, respectively. DDAB owned better effectivity thanBAK in killing S. aureus and E. coli. Compared to unmodifiedp(HEMA), all drug-loaded samples exhibited significant anti-adherence abilityagainst E. coli, but on surfaces of all DDAB-loaded hydrogels, bacteriawere below limit of detection, so DDAB was more effective than BAK inconferring anti-adherent properties.