Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate immobilisation of a novel antifouling cyclic peptide APi1775 (gr14Z-BBC2) onto contact lenses which can produce antifouling activity against ocular pathogenic bacteria P. aeruginosa.
Methods :
Increasing concentration (0.1 µM, 1.0 µM and 10 µM) of APi1775 (gr14Z-BBC2) peptide (amino acid sequence Cyclo[Lys-Ser-Val-His-Ser-Phe-Asp-Tyr-Asp-Trp-Tyr-Asn-val-BetaAla]) was immobilized on to Acuvue2® (Etafilcon A) contact lenses using EDC covalent binding as described earlier. Peptide immobilization was characterised by amino acid analysis. Antifouling and antimicrobial activity of the coated contact lenses were tested against Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain 6294 and strain 142 in the presence of saline and tear like fluid over 18 hours by viable plate count. The peptide coated contact lenses were tested for in vitro toxicity towards mammalian cells following ISO standard 10993-5 guidelines.
Results :
Amino acid analysis revealed that contact lenses processed with 0.1 µM, 1.0 µM and 10 µM peptide were able to bind 3.71µg, 19.94µg and 23.16µg peptide respectively. The peptide immobilised contact lenses showed a dose-response with respect to antifouling activity against P. aeruginosa adhesion. Inhibition by the peptide coated lenses ranged between 77% (0.8 log) to 96% (1.5log) against P. aeruginosa adhesion when they were processed with 1.0 µM, and 10.0 µM peptide respectively. The cytotoxicity tests confirmed that the peptide coated contact lenses are not toxic to mammalian cells in vitro.
Conclusions :
The current study showed that APi1775 peptide coating on commercial contact lenses can demonstrate significant antifouling activity leading to inhibition of bacterial adhesion to contact lenses. The APi1775 peptide coating may have the capacity to reduce microbial eye infections during human contact lens wear.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.