Bacterial-implant adhesion

The biocompatibility of clinical implants mammalian and bacterial cell adhesion to surfaces initiation of blood coagulation, complement activation by surfaces, solid phase immunoassays, and protein binding to cell surface receptors all involve proteins at interfaces. 

Cell adhesion to artificial surfaces plays a key role in a wide variety of demanding products and technologies such as medical implants or bioreactor systems. Adhesion of eukaryotic and bacterial cells to a biomaterial surface can be a major factor mediating its biocompatibility. For a proper integration of an implant into tissue, cell adhesion may be desired, whereas bacterial cell adhesion to medical devices must be prevented in order to minimize the risk of infections and toxicity. 

Li JX, Wang J, Shen LR et al (2007) The influence of polyethylene terephthalate surfaces modified by silver ion implantation on bacterial adhesion behavior. Surf Coat Technol 201 8155-8159... 

Plastic pipes, even when flushed out with the most powerful disinfectants and germicides, have proven to be safe havens for some bacterial strains. Bactena-resistant piping is of major importance in pharmaceutical manufacture, Research is underway to find plastic piping that will reject the adhesion of bacterial slimes. Currently, alloy steels are widely used. The adherence of slimes to plastic pipes permits colonies of bacteria to multiply. A similar problem exists when patients are furnished with plastic implants orprosiheses Hospital water supplies must be continuously monitored. 

It is often demanded that the surface of polymeric biomaterials should exhibit permanent tenacious adhesion to soft connective and dermal tissues. However, conventional non-porous, polymeric materials will be encapsulated by a fibrous membrane generated de novo by surrounding fibroblasts, when subcutaneously implanted into the living body in contact with soft connective tissues. This is a typical foreign body reaction of the living system to isolate foreign materials from the host inside the body. On the other hand, it should be noted that the small gap present between a percutaneously-implanted device and the surrounding tissue provides a possible route for bacterial infection because of the lack of microscopic adhesion at the interface. 

The FBR is increased in the presence of bacteria, a secondary challenge to sensor biocompatibility.3 6 7 Initial bacterial association with an implant surface is quickly followed by more permanent cell attachment through cell surface adhesion... 

Barrett, S. P, Bacterial Adhesion to Intravenous Cannulae Influence of Implantation in the Rabbit and... 

Other challenges for dental replacement are bacterial cell proliferation and subsequent infection following dental and orthopedic implantation. These issues are often resolved by removing the infected implant. The prevention of bacterial adhesion to the implant remains the focus of much research. Surface modification is one of the... 

Because of the high resistance against antibiotics and chemotherapy, biofilm-associated infections usually lead to recurrent inflammation. Reoperation may be necessary, but inflammation could also result in osteomyelitis, amputation, or even death. The development of longer-term performing synthetic implants, showing reduced infectious complications, requires full understanding of bacterial adhesion. 

This section focuses on surface coatings and design for orthopaedic and dental implants. For implanted materials, both mammalian cell—material and bacterial cell-material interactions are important. For the former, active cell—material adhesion is preferred because it may promote tissue integration with the implant or scaffold materials. For the latter, nonadhesion is preferred because bacterial attachment may lead to infection. 

Pavithra D, Mukesh D. Biofilm formation, bacterial adhesion and host response on polymeric implants—issues and prevention. Biomed Mater 2008 3 034003. 

---