Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics Research Group

Papers in Scientific Journals

Antimicrobial coating of spider silk to prevent bacterial attachment on silk surgical sutures

Abstract

Microbial infections from post-surgery or other medical-related procedure is a serious health problem. Nowadays, the research is focused on the development of new drug-free materials with antibacterial properties to prevent or minimize the risk of infections. Spider silk is known for its unique biomechanical properties allied with biocompatibility. Recombinant DNA technology allows to bioengineering spider silk with antimicrobial peptides (AMP). Thus, our goal was to bioengineered spider silk proteins with AMP (6mer-HNP1) as an antibacterial drug-free coating for commercial silk sutures (Perma-Hand®) for decreasing bacterial infections. Perma-Hand® sutures were coated with 6mer-HNP1 by dip coating. In vitro tests, using human fetal lung fibroblasts (MRC5), showed that coated sutures sustained cell viability, and also, the contact with red blood cells (RBCs) demonstrate blood compatibility. Also, the coatings inhibited significantly the adherence and formation of biofilm, where sutures coated with 6mer-HNP1 produced a 1.5 log reduction of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and a 2 log reduction of Escherichia coli (E. coli) compared to the uncoated Perma-Hand® suture. The mechanical properties of Perma-Hand® sutures were not affected by the presence of bioengineered spider silk proteins. Thus, the present work demonstrated that using spider silk drug-free coatings it is possible to improve the antibacterial properties of the commercial sutures. Furthermore, a new class of drug-free sutures for reducing post-implantation infections can be developed.

Journal
Acta Biomaterialia
Volume
99
Pagination
236-246
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd.
ISSN
1742-7061
URL
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1742706119306166?via%3Dihub
Keywords
antibacterial properties, Coating, Silk Sutures, Spider silk, Surgical site infection
Rights
Restricted Access
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Status
published
Project
ACROSS
Year of Publication
2019
DOI
10.1016/j.actbio.2019.09.004
Date Published
2019-11-07
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