Abstract
Bacterial biofilm formation on wet surfaces represents a significant problem in medicine and environmental sciences. One of the strategies to prevent or eliminate surface adhesion of organisms is surface modification and coating. However, the current coating technologies possess several drawbacks, including limited durability, low biocompatibility and high cost. Here, we present a simple antibacterial modification of titanium, mica and glass surfaces using self-assembling nano-structures. We have designed two different nano-structure coatings composed of fluorinated phenylalanine via the drop-cast coating technique. We investigated and characterized the modified surfaces by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and wettability analyses. Exploiting the antimicrobial property of the nano-structures, we successfully hindered the viability of Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis on the coated surfaces in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Notably, we found lower bacteria adherence to the coated surfaces and a reduction of 86–99% in the total metabolic activity of the bacteria. Our results emphasize the interplay between self-assembly and antimicrobial activity of small self-assembling molecules, thus highlighting a new approach of biofilm control for implementation in biomedicine and other fields.
Highlights
Microbial adhesion and the subsequent formation of a biofilm on surfaces in a liquid environment is a natural phenomenon
The results demonstrate that the adherence of the bacteria is not prevented by the nano-structures’ coatings, the bacterial cell viability of the adhered bacteria is significantly reduced as demonstrated in the luminescence ATP assay
We have demonstrated uniform, stable surface coatings of nano-structures formed by the self-assembly of simple building blocks
Summary
Microbial adhesion and the subsequent formation of a biofilm on surfaces in a liquid environment is a natural phenomenon. The commonly applied strategies to combat biofilm formation involve the prevention of initial bacterial adhesion to surfaces and biofilm degradation The former mainly employs surface modifications, bactericidal coatings or anti-adhesive compounds as physical barriers [9,10], and the latter involves antimicrobial agents that kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms [11]. Self-assembly is a spontaneous process in which the molecular organization of diverse building blocks, including nucleic acids, peptides, proteins and lipids, organize into well-ordered structures at the nano-scale [25,26,27,28]. It arises through non-covalent interactions between components, including electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions [29]. Dopa- and REDV-conjugated peptide amphiphiles have been used to functionalize stainless steel stent surfaces in order to enhance the attachment of endothelial cells aiming to enhance the long-term success of stents implantation [54]
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