Urinary tract infections are one of the most common hospital-acquired infections, and they are often associated with biofilm formation in indwelling medical devices such as catheters and stents. This study aims to investigate the antibiofilm performance of a polymer brush-poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate], poly(MeOEGMA)-and evaluate its effect on the antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli biofilms formed on that surface. Biofilms were formed in a parallel plate flow chamber (PPFC) for 24 h under the hydrodynamic conditions prevailing in urinary catheters and stents and challenged with ampicillin. Results obtained with the brush were compared to those obtained with two control surfaces, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and glass. The polymer brush reduced by 57% the surface area covered by E. coli after 24 h, as well as the number of total adhered cells. The antibiotic treatment potentiated cell death and removal, and the total cell number was reduced by 88%. Biofilms adapted their architecture, and cell morphology changed to a more elongated form during that period. This work suggests that the poly(MeOEGMA) brush has potential to prevent bacterial adhesion in urinary tract devices like ureteral stents and catheters, as well as in eradicating biofilms developed in these biomedical devices.

中文翻译：

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聚（MeOEGMA）刷对预防大肠杆菌生物膜形成和易感性的功效。

尿路感染是最常见的医院获得性感染，通常与留置医疗设备（如导管和支架）中的生物膜形成有关。这项研究的目的是调查聚合物刷-聚[低聚（乙二醇）甲基醚甲基丙烯酸甲酯]，聚（MeOEGMA）的抗生物膜性能，并评估其对在该表面上形成的大肠杆菌生物膜的抗菌敏感性的影响。生物膜在导尿管和支架中普遍存在的水动力条件下，在平行板流动室（PPFC）中形成24小时，并被氨苄西林攻击。将用刷子获得的结果与通过两个控制表面（聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）和玻璃）获得的结果进行比较。24小时后，聚合物刷子将大肠杆菌覆盖的表面积减少了57％，以及粘附的细胞总数 抗生素处理增强了细胞的死亡和去除，总细胞数减少了88％。在此期间，生物膜适应了其结构，并且细胞形态改变为更细长的形式。这项工作表明，聚（MeOEGMA）刷具有防止细菌在诸如输尿管支架和导管之类的尿道装置中粘附以及消除在这些生物医学装置中形成的生物膜的潜力。