Many
postsurgical complications stem from bacteria colony formation
on the surface of implants, but the usage of antibiotic agents may
cause antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, there is a strong demand
for biocompatible materials with an intrinsic antibacterial resistance
not requiring extraneous chemical agents. In this study, homogeneous
nanocones were fabricated by oxygen plasma etching on the surface
of natural, biocompatible Bombyx mori silk films. The new hydroxyl
bonds formed on the surface of the nanopatterned film by plasma etching
increased the surface energy by around 176%. This hydrophilic nanostructure
reduced the bacterial attachment by more than 90% for both Gram-negative
(Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive
(Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria and
at the same time improved the proliferation of osteoblast cells by
30%. The nanoengineered substrate and pristine silk were cultured
for 6 h with three different bacteria concentrations of 107, 105, and 103 CFU mL–1 and
the cell proliferation on the nanopatterned samples was significantly
higher due to limited bacteria attachment and prevention of biofilm
formation. The concept and materials described here reveal a promising
alternative to produce biomaterials with an inherent biocompatibility
and bacterial resistance simultaneously to mitigate postsurgical infections
and minimize the use of antibiotics.