Development of silver nano-coatings on silk sutures as a novel approach against surgical infections

Abstract

The infections give rise to a range of clinical problems and prolong hospitalization with increased healthcare costs. Moreover, persistent infections exasperate the problem of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was the development of effective and low-cost antibacterial silver coatings on surgical sutures by adopting an innovative photochemical deposition process to prevent early contamination of surgical wounds. The silver deposition technology adopted in this work is an innovative process based on the in situ photoreduction of a silver solution. The samples were dipped in the silver solution and then exposed to UV radiation in order to induce the synthesis of silver clusters on the surface of the suture. The homogeneous distribution of silver particles on the surface and on the cross-section of the treated sutures was demonstrated. All the antibacterial studies clearly demonstrated that the use of novel silver treated sutures could represent clinical advantages in terms of the prevention of surgical infections against bacterial colonization. The silver coating deposited on the sutures demonstrated no cytotoxic effect on a selected cell population. The results obtained suggested that the antibacterial silver-coated sutures developed in this work could represent an interesting alternative to conventional sutures, with evident advantages in terms of prevention of the surgical infections and on the health costs. In addiction, very low concentrations of silver significantly inhibited the microbial load, without affecting the cell viability.

Suture materials — Current and emerging trends

“…The poly (glycolic acid) based suture was coated by dipping method and the coated surface exerted high efficacy against S. aureus exceeding more than 99.5% reduction of bacterial adhesion with no cytotoxicity to fibroblast cells than the uncoated suture. In another study, AgNPs (0.5%) coating over the sutures showed efficient antimicrobial activity and reduced bacterial adhesion of S.aureus and E. coli . In another study, AgNPs‐coated suture showed both antibacterial as well as anti‐inflammatory effects .…”

Chitosan/silk fibroin composite scaffolds for wound dressing

“…Inorganic particles and polymers have been blended with SF to prepare composites, especially for improvement of antimicrobial properties . Recent antimicrobial materials focus on cationic polymers, metallic nanoparticles, and antimicrobial peptides.…”

The potential of photo-deposited silver coatings on Foley catheters to prevent urinary tract infections

“…The devices developed in this work utilises synthesised silver clusters, which are deposited simultaneously on the outer and the luminal surface of Foley catheters for prevention of UTIs. The technology, based on a photo-chemical reaction from a covalent silver precursor to metallic silver is characterized by some advantages, such as a long-term antimicrobial capability and the excellent adhesion of the coating to the substrate [37][38][39]. Moreover, the process can be easily adopted to deposit silver on different natural and synthetic substrates, thus suggesting a great potential of the technology in many biomedical applications.…”