How Do Polymer Coatings Affect the Growth and Bacterial Population of a Biofilm Formed by Total Human Salivary Bacteria?-A Study by 16S-RNA Sequencing.

Antimicrobial surface modifications are required to prevent biomaterial-associated biofilm infections, which are also a major concern for oral implants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of three different coatings on the biofilm formed by human saliva. Biofilms grown from human saliva on three different bioactive poly(oxanorbornene)-based polymer coatings (the protein-repellent : poly(oxanorbornene)-based poly(sulfobetaine), the protein-repellent and antimicrobial : poly(carboxyzwitterion), and the mildly antimicrobial and protein-adhesive : synthetic mimics of antimicrobial peptides) were analyzed and compared with the microbial composition of saliva, biofilms grown on uncoated substrates, and biofilms grown in the presence of chlorhexidine digluconate.

A Simultaneously Antimicrobial, Protein-Repellent, and Cell-Compatible Polyzwitterion Network.

A simultaneously antimicrobial, protein-repellent, and cell-compatible surface-attached polymer network is reported, which reduces the growth of bacterial biofilms on surfaces through its multifunctionality. The coating was made from a poly(oxonorbornene)-based zwitterion (PZI), which was surface-attached and cross-linked in one step by simultaneous UV-activated CH insertion and thiol-ene reaction. The process was applicable to both laboratory surfaces like silicon, glass, and gold and real-life surfaces like polyurethane foam wound dressings.

Antimicrobial and cell-compatible surface-attached polymer networks - how the correlation of chemical structure to physical and biological data leads to a modified mechanism of action.

We present a synthetic platform based on photo-induced thiol-ene chemistry, by which surface-attached networks from antimicrobial poly(oxonorbornene) (so-called polymeric synthetic mimics of antimicrobial peptides, SMAMPs) could be easily obtained. By systematically varying hydrophobicity and charge density, surface-attached polymer networks with high antimicrobial activity and excellent cell compatibility were obtained. For the homopolymer networks with constant charge density, antimicrobial activity increased systematically with increasing hydrophobicity (i.