Mechanically Responsive Antibacterial Plasma Polymer Coatings for Textile Biomaterials Emilia Kulaga, Lydie Ploux, Lavinia Balan, Gautier Schrodj, Vincent Roucoules* We have developed a new type of mechanically responsive material on the basis of a plasma- modified soft biomaterial substrate (polypropylene surgical mesh). A first plasma deposited layer, enriched in a bioactive agent (silver nanoparticles), has been covered by a second plasma polymer layer that acts as a barrier to spontaneous release. The release of the active agent in a controlled manner was achieved by the presence of mechanically reversible fragmentations in the top-layer of deposited plasma polymer, induced by mechanical stimuli. Characterization of the material was performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmis- sion Electron Microscopy, Attenuated Total Reflexion– Fourier Transform Infra-Red, X-ray Photoelectron, and Ultra Violet–Visible Spectroscopies. The antibacterial properties of the material have been verified. 1. Introduction Hospital infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. [1] Today, more than 1 million people all over the world suffer from nosocomial infectious complications. [1] Most frequently, these infections are associated with surgical wounds, the urinary tract or respiratory tract and directly involve invasive medical devices such as catheters or implants. [2–4] Medical devices thus act as passive surfaces prone to bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. [5,6] Nowadays, preventive strategies are used to fight bacterial colonization of such devices, in addition to oral treatments with antibiotics. They directly involve the biomaterial, which is modified to specifically exhibit anti- adhesive or antibacterial chemical surface properties. [7–11] In hospital environments, more and more devices with biopassive (in this case, the surface chemistry prevents bacterial adhesion without any antibacterial effect) or bioactive (here, the surface chemistry has a biological, i.e., antibacterial effect) surfaces are exploited. [12–14] Neverthe- less, they are mainly dedicated to external use and are rarely employed for implants. For internal use, drug delivery systems are preferred, aimed at fighting both planktonic and attached bacterial populations, and at controlling the dose of antibacterial agent delivered to the patient, the lifespan of the implant and the lifespan of its antibacterial effect. [15,16] Until now, however, these objectives have remained a challenge for most surgical situations. Solutions need to be specifically developed for each of them according to their specific constraints. Typically, polymer meshes used as implants for abdomi- nal and gynecological repairs are favorable to bacterial infections due to the uneven topography of meshes and, in the specific case of gynecological repairs, the large quantity of bacteria present at the implantation location. Antibacte- rial smart coatings dedicated to such soft and deformable materials are therefore needed. Nevertheless, aside from the difficulty in controlling drug delivery dose and kinetics, coatings on soft and deformable materials are highly sensitive to damage that may be induced by movements of the patient, affecting the lifespan of the biomaterial. E. Kulaga, L. Ploux, L. Balan, G. Schrodj, V. Roucoules Institut de Science des Materiaux de Mulhouse, IS2M – C.N.R.S. – UMR 7361 – UHA, 15, Rue Jean Starcky 68057, Mulhouse, Cedex, France E-mail: Vincent.Roucoules@uha.fr Full Paper Plasma Process. Polym. 2014, 11, 63–79 ß 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 63 DOI: 10.1002/ppap.201300091 wileyonlinelibrary.com