Colonization of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Fibers by Relevant Pathogenic Bacterial Strains

Abstract

Electrospun biodegradable polymers have emerged as promising materials for their applications in several fields, including biomedicine and food industry. For this reason, the susceptibility of these materials to be colonized by different pathogens is a critical issue for public health, and their study can provide future knowledge to develop new strategies against bacterial infections. In this work, the ability of three pathogenic bacterial species ( Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Listeria monocytogenes) to adhere and form biofilm in electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) microfibrous meshes was investigated. Bacterial attachment was analyzed in meshes with different microstructure, and comparisons with other materials (borosilicate glass and electrospun polylactic acid (PLA)) fibers were assessed. Analysis included colony forming unit (CFU) counts, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and crystal violet (CV) staining. All the obtained data suggest that PCL meshes, regardless of their microstructure, are highly susceptible to be colonized by the pathogenic relevant bacteria used in this study, so a pretreatment or a functionalization with compounds that present some antimicrobial activity or antibiofilm properties is highly recommended before their application. Moreover, an experiment designed to simulate a chronic wound environment was used to demonstrate the ability of these meshes to detach biofilms from the substratum where they have developed, thus making them promising candidates to be used in wound cleaning and disinfection.

Analysis of Polycaprolactone Microfibers as Biofilm Carriers for Biotechnologically Relevant Bacteria

“…Therefore, the results obtained by the two studies, using distinct incubation periods, provide complementary information that helps to understand the colonization dynamics of microorganisms in surfaces with a similar structure. The results presented here are in concordance with a previous study, performed by our research group, that determined the colonization ability of different pathogenic bacterial strains on electrospun PCL fibers using long incubation times too 24 . Both studies show that, regardless of the above-mentioned microstructural differences displayed by NBARE, Pro3…”

“…To determine if changes on the electrospun PCL surface topography could have an impact in the bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation, electrospun mats with different microfiber diameter were selected and subjected to biofilm quantification analyses. The selected microfibers, named Pro3 and Pro4, were designed with an average fiber diameter of 2.21 µm and 6.43 µm respectively 24 . Besides being significantly thinner, the Pro3 microfibers seemed to be more packed than those present in the Pro4 electrospun material, although both surfaces showed to have almost the same nominal porosity (around 80%).…”

Improving sustainability in wood coating: testing lignin and cellulose nanocrystals as additives to commercial acrylic wood coatings for bio-building

“…This finding is in agreement with De Cesare et al ( 2019), who reported an adaptive growth interaction of bacterial cells with eco-compatible nanofibers with a higher diameter range of 10-100 nm. Nevertheless, it is well described that Burkholderia and Pseudomonas strains, but also E. coli isolates, are able to attack nanomaterials and produce biofilms on them via sessile growth (Rieger et al 2013, Rumbo et al 2018, De Cesare et al 2019.…”

Poly-ε-Caprolactone/Gelatin Hybrid Electrospun Composite Nanofibrous Mats Containing Ultrasound Assisted Herbal Extract: Antimicrobial and Cell Proliferation Study

“…Bacteria have the ability to attach to the wound dressing, proliferate and form biofilms. Compared to their planktonic states, the microorganisms contained in the biofilms are more resistant to the ultraviolet (UV) light exposure, disinfectants and a standard dosage of antibiotics, hence require higher concentrations of antibiotics for microbial eradication [6].…”