Chitosan coating as an antibacterial surface for biomedical applications.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A current public health issue is preventing post-surgical complications by designing antibacterial implants. To achieve this goal, in this study we evaluated the antibacterial activity of an animal-free chitosan grafted onto a titanium alloy. METHODS: Animal-free chitosan binding on the substrate was performed by covalent link via a two-step process using TriEthoxySilylPropyl Succinic Anhydride (TESPSA) as the coupling agent. All grafting steps were studied and validated by means of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Time-of-Flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analyses and Dynamic-mode Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (DSIMS). The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains of the developed coating was assessed using the number of colony forming units (CFU). RESULTS: XPS showed a significant increase in the C and N atomic percentages assigned to the presence of chitosan. A thick layer of polymer deposit was detected by ToF-SIMS and the results obtained by DSIMS measurements are in agreement with ToF-SIMS and XPS analyses and confirms that the coating synthesis was a success. The developed coating was active against both gram negative and gram positive tested bacteria. CONCLUSION: The success of the chitosan immobilization was proven using the surface characterization techniques applied in this study. The coating was found to be effective against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains.

In vitro and in vivo characterization of antibacterial activity and biocompatibility: a study on silver-containing phosphonate monolayers on titanium.

Infections associated with implanted medical devices are a major cause of nosocomial infections, with serious medical and economic repercussions. A variety of silver-containing coatings have been proposed to decrease the risk of infection by hindering bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. However, the therapeutic range of silver is relatively narrow and it is important to minimize the amount of silver in the coatings, in order to keep sufficient antibacterial activity without inducing cytotoxicity. In this study, the antibacterial efficiency and biocompatibility of nanocoatings with minimal silver loading (∼0.65 nmol cm(-2)) was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Titanium substrates were coated by grafting mercaptododecylphosphonic acid (MDPA) monolayers followed by post-reaction with AgNO3. The MDPA/AgNO3 nanocoatings significantly inhibited Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion and biofilm formation in vitro, while allowing attachment and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts. Moreover, osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3 cells and murine mesenchymal stem cells was not affected by the nanocoatings. Sterilization by ethylene oxide did not alter the antibacterial activity and biocompatibility of the nanocoatings. After subcutaneous implantation of the materials in mice, we demonstrated that MDPA/AgNO3 nanocoatings exhibit significant antibacterial activity and excellent biocompatibility, both in vitro and in vivo, after postoperative seeding with S. epidermidis. These results confirm the interest of coating strategies involving subnanomolar amounts of silver exposed at the extreme surface for preventing bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on metallic or ceramic medical devices without compromising their biocompatibility.