Improved corrosion resistance and biofilm inhibition ability of copper-bearing 304 stainless steel against oral microaerobic Streptococcus mutans

Abstract

304 stainless steel (SS) used as orthodontic wire during orthodontics faces the risk of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) due to diverse flora environment. Hereinto, Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is the most important cariogenic bacteria. In this work, MIC behavior of a new 304-Cu SS in presence of S. mutans was studied by the observations using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) including live/dead staining, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) staining and pitting corrosion, electrochemical test, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Above results showed that 304-Cu SS possessed excellent biofilm inhibition ability and presented lower corrosion current density (icorr), larger polarization resistance (Rp) and charge transfer resistance (Rct) in the presence of S. mutans, indicating that 304-Cu SS had a better MIC resistance against S. mutans. It was further affirmed by XPS results that the presence of Cu-oxide in passive film of 304-Cu SS inhibited the formation of biofilm.