(28a) Controlling the Adhesive Behavior of Pathogenic Microorganisms on Polymeric Biomaterials

Biofilm-related infections are a class of notoriously difficult to treat healthcare-associated infections, which commonly develop on the surface of implanted medical devices. The overreliance on antibiotics to treat these infections has accelerated the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Thus, we suggest the need to shift strategies towards infection prevention that focus on decreasing the initial adhesion of bacteria to the surface of the polymer biomaterial. The overall goal of the talk is to illustrate how structure-property relationships and bioinspired approaches can be used to decrease the initial adhesion of microorganisms to biomaterials. In this presentation, I will discuss the effect that fundamental properties of polymer coatings (i.e., chemistry, molecular architecture, stiffness, and thickness) have on the surface-associated transport of bacteria and on the adhesion of bacteria under quiescent conditions. By understanding the effects of molecular architecture, stiffness, thickness and coating chemistry, we have unlocked specific structure-property relationships that can be tailored to control the degree of bacterial adhesion and subsequently, reduce the formation of biofilms. By fundamentally understanding the interactions between microorganisms and engineered biomaterials, we can potentially reduce the spread of microbial resistant genes and the use of commercial antimicrobials across healthcare and biotechnology applications.