Antioxidants are known to improve the wound healing process and are researched as a therapeutic strategy to treat chronic wounds. Dopamine is a known neurotransmitter with antioxidant properties that can be polymerized to form polydopamine (PDA). Herein, polydopamine is demonstrated as an antioxidant biomaterial. In prior work, we developed methodology to prepare hydrogels by crosslinking polysaccharides with polyamines via epichlorohydrin and NaOH. Using this previously developed methodology, dextran hydrogels crosslinked with polydopamine were prepared. Darkening of the gels indicated the increasing incorporation of polydopamine within the hydrogels. In addition to basic pH, polydopamine can be formed by reaction with polyethylene imine (PEI), which results in PEI-PDA copolymer. Dextran was similarly crosslinked with the PEI-PDA copolymer and resulted in sturdier, darker gels, which had more polydopamine incorporated. Hydrogel morphology and strength were dependent on the feed ratios of dopamine. Antioxidant activity of polydopamine containing hydrogel was confirmed and shown to be dependent on the amount of dopamine used in hydrogel synthesis. Hydrogels with 0.5 dopamine to dextran feed ratio scavenged 78.8% of radicals in a 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) antioxidant assay while gels with no dopamine scavenged only 1.4% of radicals. An ex vivo wound healing assay showed considerable cell migration with the PEI-PDA containing hydrogel.

BackgroundUrinary tract infections (UTIs) are common bacterial infections in adults, and catheter-associated UTIs are the most common nosocomial infection. The rise of multidrug-resistant organisms and an increased focus on antibiotic stewardship has influenced the development of novel treatments against such infections, and there is growing interest in the use of probiotics for antimicrobial therapy. We used an ex vivo human bladder tissue (HBT) model to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy and biocompatibility of lactobacillus-based developmental formulations (created and supplied by ICET, Inc.) for preventative treatment against common UTI pathogens.MethodsTo assess antimicrobial efficacy, lactobacillus-based formulations (live and attenuated) were spiked with five prevalent UTI organisms (5 × 103 CFU/mL). Ex vivo HBT explants were treated with 300 μL of spiked formulation for 6 and 24 h at 37°C, then processed and plated on selective agars. Biocompatibility studies assessed ex vivo HBT tissue viability and inflammatory response (IL-8) to lactobacillus-containing formulations with MTT assay and ELISA at 2 h post-treatment.ResultsAt 6 h, live lactobacillus-containing formulations (29–124, 29-124C) were bacteriostatic (90.00–99.89% log CFU/mL reduction) against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae and bactericidal (≥99.90% log CFU/mL reduction) against Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, and Proteus mirabilis. By 24 h, live formulations were bactericidal against all five organisms tested. Attenuated formulation 29–125 achieved bacteriostatic efficacy against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and P. mirabilis and bactericidal efficacy against C. albicans and E. faecalis at 24 h. Biocompatibility assessments following 2 h exposure to lactobacillus-based formulations revealed exposed explants were fully viable, with no significant changes in IL-8 production compared with PBS-treated controls.ConclusionThis study suggests lactobacillus-based formulations are effective and safe options for UTI prevention. While this static ex vivo human bladder mucosalmodel does not fully replicate the dynamic and diluting conditions that occur in vivo, we anticipate that our findings will be confirmed by future in vivo studies. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.