# Tethered liquid perfluorocarbon coating for preventing urinary catheter colonization

> **NIH NIH R43** · CERULEAN SCIENTIFIC INC. · 2022 · $299,429

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infections worldwide, effecting ~150 million people
annually, and urinary catheters (UCs) are a major cause of UTIs. There are >1 million Catheter-Associated
Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs) each year in the US, with treatment costs exceeding $350 million/year.
Untreated CAUTIs can lead to kidney and bloodstream infections, sepsis, or even death. While antibiotic
treatment can successfully treat CAUTIs and reduce the risk of sepsis, inappropriate antibiotic use is common
and promotes antimicrobial resistance and risk of Clostridium difficile colitis. Thus, better approaches are
needed
FreeFlow Medical Devices (FreeFlow) is optimizing and commercializing tethered liquid perfluorocarbon (TLP)
coatings on medical devices. The goal of this SBIR project is to validate the hypothesis that TLP-coated UCs
(TLP-UCs) will resist the adhesion of pathogens and subsequent biofilm formation that are responsible for
CAUTI. Our long-term goal is to improve outcomes for patients requiring UCs by reducing the rate of
complications caused by infection. Our omniphobic coating stops the adhesion of all biological components
(bacteria, fungi, blood components, urine) to the surface of medical devices through the immobilization of a thin
layer of highly inert and biocompatible perfluorinated liquid. Our optimized coating technology incorporates a
thin fluoropolymer layer on various surfaces with the help of chemical vapor deposition technique.
The objective of this phase I proposal is to obtain the proof of concept that our TLP-UCs will resist the
adhesion of pathogens responsible for CAUTI for ≥30 days under physiological urine flow conditions. Although
we previously achieved these goals against the pathogens responsible for bloodstream infections with central
venous catheters (CVC), the inherent differences between CVC and UC and their physiological exposure
mean that it is critical to ensure that these properties are retained in UCs. The goals of this phase I application
will be achieved by investigating the following Specific Aims. Aim 1: Measure adherence of the TLP coating to
urinary catheters and assess the ability to inhibit pathogen colonization. Aim 2: Determine the ability of TLP-
coated UC to withstand physiological flow conditions and pathogen colonization. Aim 3: Determine the ability of
TLP-coated UC to withstand colonization by diverse CAUTI pathogens from human specimens. Once proof of
concept has been obtained, we will progress to Phase II for cGMP manufacturing and FDA-recommended
biocompatibility testing ready for premarket approval.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10481166
- **Project number:** 1R43DK132989-01
- **Recipient organization:** CERULEAN SCIENTIFIC INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Todd McFarland
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $299,429
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10481166

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10481166, Tethered liquid perfluorocarbon coating for preventing urinary catheter colonization (1R43DK132989-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10481166. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*