Nanoparticles Production and Inclusion in &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;S. aureus&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; Incubated with Polyurethane: An Electron Microscopy Analysis

Lyubov V Didenko,Claudio Savoia,N M Shustrova,Marziale Milani,Tatiana A Smirnova,Natalia V Shevlyagina,Francesco Tatti,Roberta Curia,I Y Lebedenko,George A Avtandilov

doi:10.4236/ojmi.2013.32010

Abstract

This study shows that submicron/nanoparticles found in bacterial cells (S. aureus) incubated with polyurethane (a material commonly used for prostheses in odontostomatology) are a consequence of biodestruction. The presence of polyurethane nanoparticles into bacterial vesicles suggests that the internalization process occurs through endocytosis. TEM and FIB/SEM are a suitable set of correlated instruments and techniques for this multi facet investigation: polyurethane particles influence the properties of S. aureus from the morpho-functional standpoint that may have undesirable effects on the human body. S. aureus and C. albicans are symbiotic microorganisms; it was observed that C. albicans has a similar interaction with polyurethane and an increment of the biodestruction capacity is expected by its mutual work with S. aureus.

Highlights

The interaction of S. aureus with polyurethane is studied with electron and ion microscopy instrumentation (SEM, FIB and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM))
This study shows that submicron/nanoparticles found in bacterial cells (S. aureus) incubated with polyurethane are a consequence of biodestruction
S. aureus and C. albicans are symbiotic microorganisms; it was observed that C. albicans has a similar interaction with polyurethane and an increment of the biodestruction capacity is expected by its mutual work with S. aureus

Summary

Introduction

The interaction of S. aureus with polyurethane is studied with electron and ion microscopy instrumentation (SEM, FIB and TEM). Prostheses in the oral cavity are constantly attacked by microorganisms and their colonization often concurs in the destruction of the artificial materials. This can lead to the release of allergenic substances, toxic to the human body [2,4,5,6]. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to morphologically evaluate the damage induced by microorganisms (adherence, formation of microcolonies and biofilm) at different stages, depending on the exposure time of the material to the bacteria and on the state of the polyurethane surface. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) was a complementary technique, useful to investigate the samples’ inner structure and composition and to trace the pathway of polyurethane small particles ( nanoparticles) while

Methods

Results

Conclusion