Conformal Hydrogel Coatings on Catheters To Reduce Biofouling

Reducing biofouling while increasing lubricity of inserted medical catheters is highly desirable to improve their comfort, safety, and long-term use. We report here a simple method to create thin (∼30 μm) conformal lubricating hydrogel coatings on catheters. The key to this method is a three-step process including shape-forming, gradient cross-linking, and swell-peeling (we label this method as SGS). First, we took advantage of the fast gelation of agar to form a hydrogel layer conformal to catheters; then, we performed a surface-bound UV cross-linking of acrylamide mixed in agar in open air, purposely allowing gradual oxygen inhibition of free radicals to generate a gradient of cross-linking density across the hydrogel layer; and finally, we caused the hydrogel to swell to let the non-cross-linked/loosely attached hydrogel fall off, leaving behind a surface-bound, thin, and mostly uniform hydrogel coating. This method also allowed easy incorporation of different polymerizable monomers to obtain multifunctionality. For example, incorporating an antifouling, zwitterionic moiety sulfobetaine in the hydrogel reduced both in vitro protein adsorption and in vivo foreign-body response in mice. The addition of a biocidal N-halamine monomer to the hydrogel coating deactivated both Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli) O157:H7 within 30 min of contact and reduced biofilm formation by 90% compared to those of uncoated commercial catheters when challenged with S. aureus for 3 days. The lubricating, antibiofouling hydrogel coating may bring clinical benefits in the use of urinary and venous catheters as well as other types of medical devices.