Antibacterial abilities of Vancomycin interactions in PDEGMA brushes fabricated by interface-mediated PET-RAFT polymerization on implant surfaces

The proliferation of pathogenic bacteria and biofilm formation on implantable material surfaces causes negative results in many medical treatments and infections. Despite the measures taken against unwanted bacteria with modern and advanced sterilization, infections due to contamination during the storage of implants are still an important problem. In order to overcome these problems, it has become necessary to develop synergistic systems to increase antibacterial performance and prevent biofilm formation. Polymer brush systems are among the strategies that can prevent bacteria and biofilm formation by keeping cell-surface or bacteria-surface interactions to a minimum. In this study, temperature-sensitive poly (di(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate) (PDEGMA) brush systems were synthesized on implant surfaces using the photoinduced-electron transfer reversible addition dissociation chain transfer polymerization (PET-RAFT) technique. Vancomycin (Van) antibiotic conjugation was achieved by covalently binding PDEGMA brushes to the carboxylic acid functional end groups. At the same time, Van release studies were performed in this system by utilizing the temperature-sensitive feature of PDEGMA. Antibacterial properties were determined after examining the implant-bacteria interaction for both cases. In particular, such synergistic systems will shed important light on implant studies for researchers thanks to their antibacterial capacities.