Synthesis of Electrospun TiO2 Nanofibers and Characterization of Their Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Potential against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria

Mohammad Azam Ansari; Hani Manssor Albetran; Muidh Hamed Alheshibri; Abdelmajid Timoumi; Norah Abdullah Algarou; Sultan Akhtar; Yassine Slimani; Munirah Abdullah Almessiere; Fatimah Saad Alahmari; Abdulhadi Baykal; It-Meng Low

doi:10.3390/antibiotics9090572

Synthesis of Electrospun TiO₂ Nanofibers and Characterization of Their Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Potential against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria

Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Sep 3;9(9):572. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9090572.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemic Disease Research, Institute for Research & Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Basic Sciences, College of Education, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 2375, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia.
³ Basic Science Department, Deanship of Preparatory Year and Supporting Studies & Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Physics Department, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm AL-Qura University, Makkah 24231, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Biophysics, Institute for Research & Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Nano-Medicine Research, Institute for Research & Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia.

Abstract

Recently, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanomaterials have gained increased attention because of their cost-effective, safe, stable, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, photocatalytic, bactericidal, biomedical, industrial and waste-water treatment applications. The aim of the present work is the synthesis of electrospun TiO₂ nanofibers (NFs) in the presence of different amounts of air-argon mixtures using sol-gel and electrospinning approaches. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized NFs were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of synthesized NFs against Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus (MRSA) was investigated by determining their minimum bacteriostatic and bactericidal values. The topological and morphological alteration caused by TiO₂ NFs in bacterial cells was further analyzed by SEM. TiO₂ NFs that were calcined in a 25% air-75% argon mixture showed maximum antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)/minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value of TiO₂ NFs against P. aeruginosa was 3 and 6 mg/mL and that for MRSA was 6 and 12 mg/mL, respectively. The MIC/MBC and SEM results show that TiO₂ NFs were more active against Gram-negative P. aeruginosa cells than Gram-positive S. aureus. The inhibition of biofilm formation by TiO₂ NFs was investigated quantitatively by tissue culture plate method using crystal violet assay and it was found that TiO₂ NFs inhibited biofilm formation by MRSA and P. aeruginosa in a dose-dependent manner. TiO₂ NFs calcined in a 25% air-75% argon mixture exhibited maximum biofilm formation inhibition of 75.2% for MRSA and 72.3% for P. aeruginosa at 2 mg/mL, respectively. The antibacterial and antibiofilm results suggest that TiO₂ NFs can be used to coat various inanimate objects, in food packaging and in waste-water treatment and purification to prevent bacterial growth and biofilm formation.

Keywords: TiO2 nanofibers; biofilm prevention and control; biomedical application; electrospinning; multidrug-resistant bacteria.