ABSTRACT
B acterial adhesion to material surfaces is an essential prerequisite for the onset of biofilm generation and infection in implantable materials. Infection resistant materials are, therefore, playing an increasingly important role in medical devices and healthcare products. The large increase in device-related nosocomial infections following surgical proce dures involving implanted devices, coupled with the threat from growing numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains resulting from medica tions used for providing infection control, has in recent years, created a sense of urgency in the development of new, efficient anti-infective mate rials with minimal repercussions. There is also renewed interest in devel oping new antimicrobial coatings in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Efforts in these areas have been spurred by the undesirable side effects caused by antimicrobial preservatives and the increasing appearance of resistant microorganisms in the healthcare arena.
