Potent, Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Effects of S-Nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine-Impregnated Nitric Oxide-Releasing Latex Urinary Catheters

Although numerous prevention and intervention techniques have been developed to counteract catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), urinary catheters remain one of the most common sources of hospital-acquired infections. Nitric oxide (NO), a gaseous free radical responsible for regulating many physiological functions in the body, has gained immense popularity due to its potent, broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, which is capable of combating medical device-associated infections. In this work, a straightforward solvent-swelling method was used to load the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) into commercial latex catheters (SNAP-UCs) for the first time. The effects of swelling catheters with different concentrations of SNAP solutions (25-125 mg/mL SNAP in tetrahydrofuran (THF)) were studied by measuring the NO release kinetics, SNAP loading, and SNAP leaching. SNAP-UCs impregnated with a 50 mg/mL SNAP-THF solution were found to maximize the amount of SNAP loaded into the latex (0.115 +/- 0.009 mg SNAP/mg catheter) and showed physiological levels of NO release (>2 x 10(-10) mol min(-1) cm(-2)) over 7 days and minimal SNAP leaching (<2%). SNAP-UCs showed impressive in vitro contact-based and diffusible antimicrobial efficacy against three CAUTI-associated pathogens, reducing the viability of adhered and planktonic Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Staphylococcus aureus by similar to 98.0 to 99.1% (adhered) and 86.3-96.3% (planktonic) compared to control latex catheters. In vitro cytotoxicity against 3T3 mouse fibroblasts using a CCK-8 assay showed that SNAP-UCs were noncytotoxic (>90% viability). In summary, SNAP-UCs show stable, noncytotoxic NO release characteristics capable of potent, broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, demonstrating great potential for reducing the devastating effects associated with CAUTIs.

Automated summary

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) remain a major source of hospital-acquired infections. This study demonstrated the successful loading of a nitric oxide (NO) donor into latex catheters, which showed stable noncytotoxic release characteristics and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, offering great potential for reducing the impact of CAUTIs.