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Skin and Mucosal Delivery (Focus Group – SMD)

pH-Responsive Weak Organic Acid-Incorporated Hydrogel Coatings for Antimicrobial Urinary Catheters

Colin McCoy – Professor, Queen‘s University Belfast; Matthew Wylie – Lecturer, Queen‘s University Belfast

    Poster Presenter(s)

  • Linfei Dai, BSc

    PhD Student
    Queen's University Belfast
    Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Introduction:

A urinary catheter is a widely used medical device for bladder drainage, yet up to 50% of long-term users suffer from catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and blockages[1]. Increasing antibiotic resistance has reduced the effectiveness of conventional antimicrobial therapies, creating the need for alternative strategies[2]. Weak organic acids (WOAs) offer a promising option by disrupting bacterial membranes and metabolic processes[3]. This study combines WOAs with HEMA-based hydrogels to develop a pH-responsive antimicrobial catheter coating to deliver WOAs in response to infection.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand antimicrobial mechanisms and release behavior of selected weak organic acids from hydrogels.
  • Characterize physicochemical properties and antimicrobial performance of WOA-HEMA hydrogels.
  • Evaluate pH-responsive hydrogel coatings as an antibiotic-free approach for CAUTI prevention.