Comparison of bacterial adherence to polylactides, silicone, and titanium

Conclusions. Less bacterial adherence occurred on uncoated polylactide and silicone than on uncoated titanium surfaces. Albumin coating was an effective method to inhibit bacterial adherence to all these surfaces. As regards bacterial adherence, polylactides are at least as safe implant materials as silicone and titanium. Objectives. We compared adherence of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to four implant materials and studied the inhibitory effect of albumin on adherence. The aims were to discover any differences between materials and to study the effectiveness of albumin coating. Materials and methods. Eight plates of polylactide A and B, silicone, and titanium were exposed to S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Four of these plates were uncoated and four were coated with albumin. A total of 64 plates were included in the study. The bacteria were stained with acridine orange, and 10 photomicrographs of each plate allowed quantification of the surface area covered with bacteria. Results. The most adherence occurred on titanium without coating. Albumin coating of the surface significantly reduced bacterial adherence to each material. Differences between materials with albumin coating were relatively small. Of the bacteria, P. aeruginosa had the greater capacity to adhere to a surface.