Plasma polymerized linalool (ppLin): an antimicrobial and biocompatible coating

Abstract

Bacterial infections in medical devices and drug resistance of bacteria can cause chaos in the world due toloss of lives in addition to the cost of device revisions, quarantine, disinfection of infected areas, and patient treatment.Antibacterial coatings of essential oils on medical devices can prevent bacterial attachment and reduce costs. Linalool isan antibacterial constituent of essential oils. Herein, we examine for the first time the fabrication and characterization ofradio frequency (RF) plasma polymerized hydrophilic thin films from linalool (ppLin) by varying deposition parameters(RF power and deposition time) and the behavior of ppLin with two bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcusaureus) commonly related to microbial contamination of medical devices. While a dramatic reduction in E. coli and S.aureus attachment was observed on ppLin films, their hydrophilic surface was also bactericidal to S. aureus. Additionally,ppLin films were shown to be adherent and noncytotoxic to human fibroblast cells. ppLin can be potentially integratedinto medical and other clinical devices as a promising low-cost biocompatible antimicrobial coating.