Retardation of Bacterial Biofilm Formation by Coating Urinary Catheters with Metal Nanoparticle-Stabilized Polymers

Osamah Al Rugaie; Ahmed A H Abdellatif; Mohamed A El-Mokhtar; Marwa A Sabet; Ahmed Abdelfattah; Mansour Alsharidah; Musaed Aldubaib; Hassan Barakat; Suha Mujahed Abudoleh; Khalid A Al-Regaiey; Hesham M Tawfeek

doi:10.3390/microorganisms10071297

Retardation of Bacterial Biofilm Formation by Coating Urinary Catheters with Metal Nanoparticle-Stabilized Polymers

Microorganisms. 2022 Jun 27;10(7):1297. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10071297.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Qassim University, P.O. Box 991, Unaizah 51911, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sphinx University, New-Assiut 71684, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah 51911, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Food Technology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University, Moshtohor 13736, Egypt.
¹¹ Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman 11622, Jordan.
¹² Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Urinary catheter infections remain an issue for many patients and can complicate their health status, especially for individuals who require long-term catheterization. Catheters can be colonized by biofilm-forming bacteria resistant to the administered antibiotics. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the efficacy of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) stabilized with different polymeric materials generated via a one-step simple coating technique for their ability to inhibit biofilm formation on urinary catheters. AgNPs were prepared and characterized to confirm their formation and determine their size, charge, morphology, and physical stability. Screening of the antimicrobial activity of nanoparticle formulations and determining minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and their cytotoxicity against PC3 cells were performed. Moreover, the antibiofilm activity and efficacy of the AgNPs coated on the urinary catheters under static and flowing conditions were examined against a clinical isolate of Escherichia coli. The results showed that the investigated polymers could form physically stable AgNPs, especially those prepared using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and ethyl cellulose (EC). Preliminary screening and MIC determinations suggested that the AgNPs-EC and AgNPs-PVP had superior antibacterial effects against E. coli. AgNPs-EC and AgNPs-PVP inhibited biofilm formation to 58.2% and 50.8% compared with AgNPs-PEG, silver nitrate solution and control samples. In addition, coating urinary catheters with AgNPs-EC and AgNPs-PVP at concentrations lower than the determined IC50 values significantly (p < 0.05; t-test) inhibited bacterial biofilm formation compared with noncoated catheters under both static and static and flowing conditions using two different types of commercial Foley urinary catheters. The data obtained in this study provide evidence that AgNP-coated EC and PVP could be useful as potential antibacterial and antibiofilm catheter coating agents to prevent the development of urinary tract infections caused by E. coli.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; PVP; biofilm; ethylcellulose; silver nanoparticles; urinary catheters.

Grants and funding

QU-IF-1-4-1/Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia