Natural Cyanobacterial Polymer-Based Coating as a Preventive Strategy to Avoid Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) represent about 40% of all healthcare-associated infections. Herein, the authors report the further development of an infection preventive anti-adhesive coating (CyanoCoating) meant for urinary catheters, and based on a natural polymer released by a marine cyanobacterium. CyanoCoating performance was assessed against relevant CAUTI etiological agents, namelyEscherichia coli,Proteus mirabilis,Klebsiella pneumoniae,methicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA), andCandida albicansin the presence of culture medium or artificial urine, and under biofilm promoting settings. CyanoCoating displayed a broad anti-adhesive efficiency against all the uropathogens tested (68-95%), even in the presence of artificial urine (58-100%) with exception ofP. mirabilisin the latter condition. Under biofilm-promoting settings, CyanoCoating reduced biofilm formation byE. coli,P. mirabilis,andC. albicans(30-60%). In addition, CyanoCoating prevented large crystals encrustation, and its sterilization with ethylene oxide did not impact the coating stability. Therefore, CyanoCoating constitutes a step forward for the implementation of antibiotic-free alternative strategies to fight CAUTIs.