Complications related to infection from the use of urinary catheters are currently the most common hospital-acquired maladies. Present catheters have surfaces which are too tacky, are prone to infection, and are susceptible to mineral encrustation. Spire has developed an innovative process for deposition of adherent metallic coatings on polymers. Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD) will be used to coat urinary catheters with silver to eliminate problems emanating from infection and at the same time minimize high friction during insertion. Silver is a known bactericidal agent and is ideal for creating a low friction surface. IBAD is an advanced low temperature coating process which combines evaporation with concurrent ion bombardment to produce a coating which is adherent, uniform, and pinhole free. Spire has already used to process in preliminary trials to coat catheters with silver, and results have been very encouraging. The coatings appear to be fully dense, pinhole free, and adherent, as revealed by microscopy and conventional peel testing, respectively. Phase I research will demonstrate the feasibility of IBAD for coating urinary catheters with silver. A number of polyurethane coupons and catheters will be coated and tested. Testing will focus in three areas. First, the durability and friction of the Ag coating will be assessed with various tests. Experiments will be performed for durability, friction, adherence, uniformity, and density. Second, the biocompatibility will be tested, with specific emphasis on effectiveness in reducing infection and mineral encrustation. The final area of testing will concentrate on changes which are induced by the coating on the original properties of the catheters, such as tensile strength and stiffness.
