Journal
NANO LETTERS
Volume 19, Issue 4, Pages 2524-2529Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b00187
Keywords
Nanotechnology; plasmonics; biofilm; surgical implants; disinfection
Categories
Funding
- Fundacio Privada Cellex
- CERCA programme
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in RD
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The insertion of an implant in the body of a patient raises the risk of a posterior infection and formation of a biofilm, which can have critical consequences on the patient's health and be associated with a high sanitary cost. While antibacterial agents can be used to prevent the infection, such a strategy is time-limited and causes bacteria resistance. As an alternative to biochemical approaches, we propose here to use light-induced local hyperthermia with plasmonic nanoparticles. This strategy is implemented on surgical meshes, extensively used in the context of hernia repairing, one of the most common general surgeries. Surgical meshes were homogeneously coated with gold nanorods designed to efficiently convert near-infrared light into heat. The modified mesh was exposed to a biofilm of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria before being treated with a train light pulses. We systematically study how the illumination parameters, namely fluence, peak intensity and pulse length, influence the elimination of attached bacteria. Additionally, fluorescence confocal microscopy provides us some insight on the mechanism involved in the degradation of the biofilm. This proof-of-principle study opens a new set of opportunities for the development of novel disinfection approaches combining light and nanotechnology.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available