International. A newly developed nanocomposite coating can inhibit biofilm formation and kill attached bacteria, which helps address the growing postoperative infections, which is common these days due to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) are caused by the development of biofilms (groups of bacteria that grow in formation and are highly resistant to antibiotics) at the incision site or in the soft tissue within the site.
It is important to have an antibacterial coating on the surface of the biofilm matrix that can act as a potential source of SSI. Conventional antibacterial coatings containing biocides such as nanosilver, nanocopper, triclosan and chlorhexidine have been used to prevent bacterial infections.
Although triclosan and chlorhexidine exhibit antibacterial effects against a broad spectrum of bacteria, they and other biocides have been found to produce cytotoxicity.
As a result, there is an increasing focus on the development of non-cytotoxic alternative materials with antibacterial properties.
Researchers at ARCI, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have developed a nanocomposite coating (referred to in ARCI as ATL) by combining water repellency and biocidal property (combinatorial approach), which exhibits hydrophobic and biocidal behavior.
The developed coating not only inhibits the formation of biofilms by restricting the adhesion of bacteria and water, but also kills the attached bacteria.
ATL was deposited in different surgical sutures made of silk, nylon and polyglactin 910 (vicryl) in addition to quality 420 stainless steel coupons for surgical instruments.
Biofilm inhibition was tested against the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and clinical strains isolated from proven biofilm-forming bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at the Translational Health Science Technology Institute (THSTI) and LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) respectively.
ATL-coated vicryl sutures exhibited a higher percentage of biofilm inhibition compared to commercially available triclosan-coated antibacterial sutures.
The cytotoxicity of the formulation on the coated surface was evaluated and ATL coatings were found to be non-cytotoxic.
The coatings developed in the present study can be used as a non-cytotoxic alternative to commercially available antibacterial coatings, especially for healthcare applications in surgical sutures/surgical instruments to prevent the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria.
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