ANTIMICROBIAL POLYMERS AND THEIR USES

摘要

Polymers with non-leaching antimicrobial activity and their use as surface coatings or bulk resins for medical devices. The antimicrobial polymers are prepared with antimicrobial moieties covalently bonded to a polymer chain end or to a polymer backbone at a side chain end. The antimicrobial moiety-containing endgroups include surface active (or surface assembling) moieties which promote enrichment of antimicrobial endgroups at the polymer surface and thus formation of an antimicrobially active surface. Polymers with built-in antimicrobial endgroups can be used as bulk resins, as antimicrobial additives, or as infection preventative coatings in the manufacture of medical devices (e.g., catheters, vascular access devices, peripheral lines, IV sites, drains, gastric feeding and tubes, and other implantable devices). Such materials can also be used as antimicrobial and antifouling coatings on structures in contact with microorganism in environments that require control of biofilm formation, such as marine products.