Inhibited Bacterial Adhesion and Biofilm Formation on Quaternized Chitosan-Loaded Titania Nanotubes with Various Diameters

• Published in: Materials Vol. 9; no. 3; p. 155
• Main Authors: Lin, Wen-Tao, Zhang, Yi-Yuan, Tan, Hong-Lue, Ao, Hai-Yong, Duan, Zhao-Ling, He, Guo, Tang, Ting-Ting
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 03-03-2016; MDPI
• Subjects: Adhesion; antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; bacteria adhesion; Biocompatibility; biofilm formation; Biofilms; Bone marrow; Drug resistance; Formations; implant-associated infection; Microscopy; Nanotubes; Orthopedics; Penicillin; quaternised chitosan; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Staphylococcus infections; Stem cells; Surgical implants; titania nanotubes; Titanium; Titanium dioxide; Transplants & implants; China; bacteria adhesion; implant-associated infection; quaternised chitosan; biofilm formation; titania nanotubes; antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma9030155

Titania nanotube-based local drug delivery is an attractive strategy for combating implant-associated infection. In our previous study, we demonstrated that the gentamicin-loaded nanotubes could dramatically inhibit bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on implant surfaces. Considering the overuse of antibiotics may lead to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, we synthesized a new quaternized chitosan derivative (hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan, HACC) with a 27% degree of substitution (DS; referred to as 27% HACC) that had a strong antibacterial activity and simultaneously good biocompatibility with osteogenic cells. Titania nanotubes with various diameters (80, 120, 160, and 200 nm) and 200 nm length were loaded with 2 mg of HACC using a lyophilization method and vacuum drying. Two standard strain, methicillin-resistant
(American Type Culture Collection 43300) and
(American Type Culture Collection 35984), and two clinical isolates,
376 and
389, were selected to investigate the bacterial adhesion at 6 h and biofilm formation at 24, 48, and 72 h on the HACC-loaded nanotubes (NT-H) using the spread plate method, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Smooth titanium (Smooth Ti) was also investigated and compared. We found that NT-H could significantly inhibit bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on its surface compared with Smooth Ti, and the NT-H with 160 nm and 200 nm diameters had stronger antibacterial activity because of the extended HACC release time of NT-H with larger diameters. Therefore, NT-H can significantly improve the antibacterial ability of orthopedic implants and provide a promising strategy to prevent implant-associated infections.