Strategies for antimicrobial peptide coatings on medical devices: a review and regulatory science perspective

Abstract

Indwelling and implanted medical devices are subject to contamination by microbial pathogens during surgery, insertion or injection, and ongoing use, often resulting in severe nosocomial infections. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) offer a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics to reduce the incidence of such infections, as they exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, microbial biofilms, fungi, and viruses. In this review-perspective, we first provide an overview of the progress made in this field over the past decade with an emphasis on the local release of AMPs from implant surfaces and immobilization strategies for incorporating these agents into a wide range of medical device materials. We then provide a regulatory science perspective addressing the characterization and testing of AMP coatings based on the type of immobilization strategy used with a focus on the US market regulatory niche. Our goal is to help narrow the gulf between academic studies and preclinical testing, as well as to support a future literature base in order to develop the regulatory science of antimicrobial coatings.

Keywords:

• Biomaterials
• implants
• infection
• Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA)
• regulatory science
• medical device
• antimicrobial peptides
• coatings

Acknowledgments

Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez holds a Presidential Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania and is a recipient of the Langer Prize by the AIChE Foundation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Disclaimer

Findings and conclusions in this paper have not been formally disseminated by the US Food and Drug Administration and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. The mention of commercial products, their sources, or their use in connection with material reported herein is not to be construed as either an actual or implied endorsement of such products by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Additional information

Funding

The de la Fuente Lab acknowledges funding from the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism and the Penn Mental Health AIDS Research Center of the University of Pennsylvania.