Pathogen-specific and non-leaching antibacterial coatings for textiles

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are responsible for over 100,000 deaths annually in the US alone. Health care materials for wound dressings, hernia meshes, as well as hygiene products, are especially important to avoid HAIs. The methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain is a major contributor to HAIs. This study focuses on developing an efficient MRSA-specific antimicrobial coating for cellulose-based (Lyocell) and synthetic (polyurethane) textiles to efficiently kill MRSA. MRSA-specific targeting is achieved through the endolysin ClyF, which is as fusion protein immobilized on textiles using the material-binding peptide macaque histatin (MacHis). MacHis binding is very strong preventing leaching and proteolytic digest was not observed. ClyF targets various pathogenic bacterial species and interestingly, beneficial skin bacteria, like Corynebacterium and Cutibacterium that aid in wound healing, remain unaffected. ClyF-17x-MacHis-coated textiles reduce MRSA within a ≥ 4.6-log scale with minimal impact on skin microbiome. Notably, a combined application of the antibiotic levofloxacin fully eradicates mixed cultures of MRSA and P. aeruginosa; the latter effect cannot be achieved with either antimicrobial agent alone. The developed scalable antimicrobial coating offers high efficacy, low resistance, non-leaching properties, and pathogen-specificity, providing a promising coating platform with new treatment options to accelerate wound recovery from bacterial infections and address mixed infections that are hard to treat with individual therapeutic approaches.