# Nitric oxide Releasing Ultra-Slippery Antibacterial Surfaces for Urological Catheter Applications

> **NIH NIH R43** · NYTRICX INC. · 2023 · $337,395

## Abstract

Abstract
Urinary catheters are one of the most widely used medical devices in a hospital setting and are expected to only
increase in growth due to the aging population. Out of all the various biomedical devices that are frequently used
in a clinical setting, urinary catheters are associated with the largest portion of medical complications related to
infection. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) account for nearly 40% of all healthcare
associated infections (HAIs) and can lead to extended hospital stays for patients which in turn leads to higher
healthcare costs. To overcome this risk of infection, a catheter surface that is able to prevent bacterial adhesion
and biofilm formation while simultaneously eliminating planktonic bacteria present in the vicinity is highly
desirable. However, no long-term catheter solution has been able to accomplish this goal. Nytricx, Inc. has
developed proprietary methods and know-how developing anti-infective nitric oxide (NO) releasing interfaces
capable of effectively eliminating a wide variety of bacterial strains while being able to elicit no cytotoxic response
from mammalian cell lines. Nytricx, Inc. has also demonstrated that the liquid-infusion of silicone oil to create a
super slippery surface is able to prevent the adhesion of proteins and bacteria and thus eliminate biofilms. A
synergistic antimicrobial response is achieved by combining liquid-infused strategy and NO releasing polymers
(LINORel). The overall objective of this Phase I SBIR application is to create a long-term highly antimicrobial
urinary catheter through a combination of impregnating Foley catheters with a NO donor, S-nitroso-N-
acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), with a liquid-infused silicone oil interface and to evaluate commercialization
feasibility in terms of mechanical and biological properties.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10759903
- **Project number:** 1R43DK136411-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NYTRICX INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Ronald J. Shebuski
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $337,395
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-07-15 → 2024-07-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10759903

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10759903, Nitric oxide Releasing Ultra-Slippery Antibacterial Surfaces for Urological Catheter Applications (1R43DK136411-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10759903. Licensed CC0.

---

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