Advances in Material Modification with Smart Functional Polymers for Combating Biofilms in Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Biofilms as living microorganism communities are found anywhere, and for the healthcare sector, these constitute a threat and allied mechanism for health-associated or nosocomial infections. This review states the basis of biofilms and their formation. It focuses on their relevance for the biomedical sector, generalities, and the major advances in modified or new synthesized materials to prevent or control biofilm formation in biomedicine. Biofilm is conceptualized as an aggregate of cells highly communicated in an extracellular matrix, which the formation obeys to molecular and genetic basis. The biofilm offers protection to microorganisms from unfavorable environmental conditions. The most frequent genera of microorganisms forming biofilms and reported in infections are Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia spp., and Candida spp. in implants, heart valves, catheters, medical devices, and prostheses. During the last decade, biofilms have been most commonly related to health-associated infections and deaths in Europe, the United States, and Mexico. Smart, functional polymers are materials capable of responding to diverse stimuli. These represent a strategy to fight against biofilms through the modification or synthesis of new materials. Polypropylene and poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide were used enough in the literature analysis performed. Even smart polymers serve as delivery systems for other substances, such as antibiotics, for biofilm control.

Smart materials in dentistry

“…Targeted Antimicrobial Peptides (STAMPs) are a novel class of pathogen-specific molecules that are specifically (or selectively) produced by combining a speciesspecific targeting peptide domain with a wide spectrum antimicrobial peptide domain. 20 This peptide-based pheromone-guided "smart" material targets Streptococcus mutans, the main microbe responsible for dental caries. Competence Stimulating Peptide (CSP), a pheromone produced by Streptococcus mutans, can be used to remove the bacteria from multi-species biofilm without damaging the nation-cariogenic microorganisms.…”

A Facile Surface Modification Scheme for Medical-Grade Titanium and Polypropylene Using a Novel Mussel-Inspired Biomimetic Polymer with Cationic Quaternary Ammonium Functionalities for Antibacterial Application

“…Nevertheless, there were various endeavors to improve the biological interactions between the tissue and these two artificial synthetic materials. Improving the antimicrobial capability also attracted a vast amount of research interest including the use of functional deposits or surface functionalization of the titanium or polypropylene [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ] with different surface modification techniques.…”