Performance of Graphene/Polydimethylsiloxane Surfaces against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa Single- and Dual-Species Biofilms

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2022

Authors

Isabel M. Oliveira (Author) Other; Marisa Gomes (Author) Other; Luciana Gomes (Author) FEUP; Manuel Fernando R Pereira (Author) FEUP; Olívia S .G. P. Soares (Author) FEUP; Filipe Mergulhão (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Nanomaterials

Serial No. 9 Vol. 12 No. 1663

Pages: 1-355

ISSN: 2079-4991

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Associated Projects

NanoCAT - NanoCAT - Utilização de nanotubos de carbono modificados para combater infecções em catéteres urinários e stents

LEPABE - Financiamento Plurianual 2020-2023 da Unidade de I&D LEPABE - Laboratório de Engenharia de Processos, Ambiente, Biotecnologia e Energia

2SMART - 2SMART - engineered Smart materials for Smart citizens

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00W-088

DOI: 10.3390/nano12030355

Abstract (EN): The increasing incidence of implant-associated infections has prompted the development of effective strategies to prevent biofilm formation on these devices. In this work, pristine graphene nanoplatelet/polydimethylsiloxane (GNP/PDMS) surfaces containing different GNP loadings (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt%) were produced and evaluated on their ability to mitigate biofilm development. After GNP loading optimization, the most promising surface was tested against single- and dual-species biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibiofilm activity of GNP/PDMS surfaces was determined by the quantification of total, viable, culturable, and viable but nonculturable (VBNC) cells, as well as by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Results showed that 5 wt% GNP loading reduced the number of total (57%), viable (69%), culturable (55%), and VBNC cells (85%) of S. aureus biofilms compared to PDMS. A decrease of 25% in total cells and about 52% in viable, culturable, and VBNC cells was observed for P. aeruginosa biofilms. Dual-species biofilms demonstrated higher resistance to the antimicrobial activity of GNP surfaces, with lower biofilm cell reductions (of up to 29% when compared to single-species biofilms). Still, the effectiveness of these surfaces in suppressing single- and dual-species biofilm formation was confirmed by CLSM analysis, where a decrease in biofilm biovolume (83% for S. aureus biofilms and 42% for P. aeruginosa and dual-species biofilms) and thickness (on average 72%) was obtained. Overall, these results showed that pristine GNPs dispersed into the PDMS matrix were able to inhibit biofilm growth, being a starting point for the fabrication of novel surface coatings based on functionalized GNP/PDMS composites.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 17