A problem encountered in @entity1 undergoing long-term catheterization of the urinary tract is that of encrustation and blockage of the catheter by crystalline bacterial biofilms. This is principally caused by the action of the urease-producing pathogen @entity5609 . A major aim of this work is to develop materials resistant to encrustation. Here, the effects of polymer surface properties on the adhesion of @entity9700 are examined. Spin-coated polymer films were characterized through contact angle measurements to give the Lifschitz-van der Waals, electron acceptor and electron donor terms of the surface free energy, gamma(s)LW, gamma(s)+ and gamma(s)- respectively. A parallel-plate flow cell was used to assess adhesion to these polymer films of @entity9700 suspended in an aqueous phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, ionic strength 0.26 mol/kg. @entity9700 was found to adhere significantly less (p < 0.02) to films of agarose, @entity27023 and cross-linked @entity4832 than to more hydrophobic materials. These polymer films were found to be strongly electron donating, i.e. possessing large gamma(s)-. Films examined using scanning electron microscopy mostly showed no evidence of roughness down to a scale of 1-10 microm. The better performance is thought to be due to a repulsive interaction with the bacterial surface caused by acid/base-type interactions.

Polymer surface properties and their effect on the adhesion of XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity4832 :: ('MESH:D011142', 'Chemical') :: ['poly(vinyl alcohol)'] @entity27023 :: ('CHEBI:60758', 'Chemical') :: ['poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate)'] @entity9700 :: ('71759', 'Species') :: ['P. mirabilis'] @entity5609 :: ('584', 'Species') :: ['Proteus mirabilis']
@entity5609 :: (584,Species) :: ['Proteus mirabilis']
