Cellobiose dehydrogenase functionalized urinary catheter as novel antibiofilm system

Urinary catheters expose patients to a high risk of acquiring nosocomial infections. To prevent this risk of infec- tion, cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH), an antimicrobial enzyme able to use various oligosaccharides as electron donors to produce hydrogen peroxide using oxygen as an electron acceptor, was covalently grafted onto plasma- activated urinary polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) catheter surfaces. Successful immobilization of CDH on PDMS was confirmed by Fourier transformed-infrared spectrometry and production of H2O2. The CDH functionalized PDMS surfaces reduced the amount of viable Staphylococcus aureus by 60%, total biomass deposited on the surface by 30% and 70% of biofilm formation. The immobilized CDH was relatively stable in artificial urine over 16 days, retaining 20% of its initial activity. The CDH coated PDMS surface did not affect the growth and physiology of HEK 239 and RAW 264,7 mamma- lian cells. Therefore this new CDH functionalized catheter sys- tem shows great potential for solving the current problems associated with urinary catheters.