The goal of this research is to develop an implanted antimicrobial device to be used with short-term (over one month) and long-term (up to one year) percutaneous cathetersfor acute and chronic vascular access procedures. Such an antimicrobial cuff could be utilized with long-term catheters used for hemodialysis, total parenteral nutrition,drug delivery, and other applications. Infection is the major problem associated with central venous catheterizationprocedures. The vitacuff device developed by vitaphore corporation is made primarily from an antimicrobial collagenmaterial and can protect against catheter-related infection for up to 1 month. Development of a longer term cuff will require a new composite collagen-polymer antimicrobial matrix. Phase i development will study, in vitro, different antimicrobial agents incorporated into a variety of polymers, fabrication of a polymer surface geometry to allow tissue ingrowth, and fabrication of a collagen-polymer composite. Phase ii will involve in vivo implantation of polymer materials to assess tissue compatibility and ingrowth, and development offabrication technology for the best materials.
