Femtosecond laser modified metal surfaces alter biofilm architecture and reduce bacterial biofilm formation.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Biofilm formation, or microfouling, is a basic strategy of bacteria to colonise a surface and may happen on surfaces of any nature whenever bacteria are present. Biofilms are hard to eradicate due to the matrix in which the bacteria reside, consisting of strong, adhesive and adaptive self-produced polymers such as eDNA and functional amyloids. Targeting a biofilm matrix may be a promising strategy to prevent biofilm formation. Here, femtosecond laser irradiation was used to modify the stainless steel surface in order to introduce either conical spike or conical groove textures. The resulting topography consists of hierarchical nano-microstructures which substantially increase roughness. The biofilms of two model bacterial strains, P. aeruginosa PA01 and S. aureus ATCC29423, formed on such nanotextured metal surfaces, were considerably modified due to a substantial reduction in amyloid production and due to changes in eDNA surface adhesion, leading to significant reduction in biofilm biomass. Altering the topography of the metal surface, therefore, radically diminishes biofilm development solely by altering biofilm architecture. At the same time, growth and colonisation of the surface by eukaryotic adipose tissue-derived stem cells were apparently enhanced, leading to possible further advantages in controlling eukaryotic growth while suppressing prokaryotic contamination. The ob

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.