Replicated biopolymer pattern on PLLA-Ag basis with an excellent antibacterial response

Bára Frýdlová; Dominik Fajstavr; Nikola Slepičková Kasálková; Silvie Rimpelová; Vladimíra Svobodová Pavlíčková; Václav Švorčík; Petr Slepička

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21566

Replicated biopolymer pattern on PLLA-Ag basis with an excellent antibacterial response

Heliyon. 2023 Nov 2;9(11):e21566. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21566. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Bára Frýdlová¹, Dominik Fajstavr¹, Nikola Slepičková Kasálková¹, Silvie Rimpelová², Vladimíra Svobodová Pavlíčková², Václav Švorčík¹, Petr Slepička¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Solid State Engineering, The University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28, Prague, Czech Republic.
² Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, The University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28, Prague, Czech Republic.

Abstract

The design of functional micro or nanostructured surfaces is undergoing extensive research for their intriguing multifunctional properties and for large variety of potential applications in biomedical field (tissue engineering or cell adhesion), electronics, optics or microfluidics. Such nanosized topographies can be easily fabricated by various lithography techniques and can be also further reinforced by synergic effect by combining aforementioned structures along materials with already outstanding antibacterial properties. In this work we fabricated novel micro/nanostructured substrates using soft lithography replication method and subsequent thermal nanoimprint lithography method, creating nanostructured films based on poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) fortified by thin silver films deposited by PVD. Main nanoscale patterns were fabricated by replicating surface patterns of optical discs (CDs and DVDs), which proved to be easy, fast and inexpensive method for creating relatively large area patterned surfaces. Their antimicrobial activity was examined in vitro against the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains. The results demonstrated that nanopatterned films actually improved the conditions for bacterial growth compared to pristine PLLA films, the novelty is based on formation of Ag nanoparticles on the surface/and in bulk, while silver nanoparticle enhanced and nanopatterned films exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against both bacterial strains, with circa 80 % efficacy in 4 h and complete bactericidal effect in span of 24 h.

Keywords: Antibacterial properties; Hot-embossing; Nano-lithography; Nanopattern; Nanostructures; Organic coating; PDMS; Replication; Silver nanoclusters; Soft-lithography; poly(l-lactic acid).