Promising silicones modified with cationic biocides for the development of antimicrobial medical devices

Abstract We have tested silicones containing 2% or 5% of the cationic biocides polyhexamethylene guanidine dodecylbenzenesulfonate (PHMG-DBS), 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (OMIM-BF 4 ) or 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (DMIM-BF 4 ) against the major relevant bacterial and yeast species in health care-associated infections (HCAI). Study conducted according to the international standard ISO 22196 revealed that silicones containing 2% or 5% DMIM-BF 4 or 5% PHMG-DBS presented the highest antimicrobial activity, leading to a logarithmic growth reduction of 3.03 to 6.46 and 3.65 to 4.85 depending on the bacterial or fungal species. Heat-pretreated silicones containing 2% DMIM-BF 4 kept a high activity, with at least a 3-log reduction in bacterial growth, except against P. aeruginosa where there was only a 1.1-log reduction. After 33 days, the release ratio of cationic biocide from silicone films containing 5% of DMIM-BF 4 was found to be 5.6% in pure water and 1.9% in physiological saline solution, respectively. No leaching of PHMG-DBS polymeric biocide was detected under the same conditions. These results demonstrate unambiguously that silicones containing 2% DMIM-BF 4 or 5% PHMG-DBS present high antimicrobial activity, as well as high leaching resistance and therefore may be good candidates for the development of safer medical devices.