1. ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVE RELEASE COATING IN BIOMATERIALS
Shirley Luo, (Dustin Lee Williams, PhD)
Department of Orthopedics
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. 84112
The success of an implanted device may be diminished by biofilm implant-related infection.
These infections may affect between 10% and 50% of patients with an implanted device.
Antimicrobial coatings are being investigated as potential therapies to treat and prevent biofilm-
related infections. This study investigated the ability of a unique antimicrobial compound, CZ-86,
to act as the active release agent in a device coating on a simulated orthopedic implant in order to
kill and disperse methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Stainless steel plates were
primed and coated with three layers of polydimethlysiloxane (PDMS) containing CZ-86. Biofilms
were grown on the surface of PEEK membranes by inoculating the bacteria in BHI broth. To
evaluate the efficacy of CZ-86, the coated stainless steel plates and the bacteria covered PEEK
membrane were screwed onto a piece of bone. The assembled unit was then placed in a flow cell
system to simulate in vivo conditions wherein liquid flow would constantly dilute an active
release product. Subsequently, the parts were disassembled and each piece was placed into its
own broth solution, which was later used for quantification of the remaining bacterial cells to
assess the efficacy of CZ-86. Results indicated that CZ-86 was able to reduce biofilms of MRSA
by greater than 6log10 units in 24 hours. Based on the results of this study, CZ-86 is a promising
compound to translate to an in vivo animal model in order to determine if it has the ability to treat
and prevent biofilm implant-related infections. These data may lead to the development of new-
coated devices to ultimately improve patient care.