Anti-Biofilm Coatings Based on Chitosan and Lysozyme Functionalized Magnetite Nanoparticles
Vera Alexandra Spirescu,
Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu,
Ștefan Slave,
Alexandra Cătalina Bîrcă,
Gabriela Dorcioman,
Valentina Grumezescu,
Alina Maria Holban,
Ovidiu-Cristian Oprea,
Bogdan Ștefan Vasile,
Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu,
Ionela Cristina Nica,
Miruna Silvia Stan,
Ecaterina Andronescu
Affiliations
Vera Alexandra Spirescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Ștefan Slave
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandra Cătalina Bîrcă
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Gabriela Dorcioman
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Valentina Grumezescu
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Alina Maria Holban
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 077206 Bucharest, Romania
Ovidiu-Cristian Oprea
Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Bogdan Ștefan Vasile
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Ionela Cristina Nica
Academy of Romanian Scientists, Ilfov No. 3, 50044 Bucharest, Romania
Miruna Silvia Stan
Academy of Romanian Scientists, Ilfov No. 3, 50044 Bucharest, Romania
Ecaterina Andronescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Biofilms represent a common and increasingly challenging problem in healthcare practices worldwide, producing persistent and difficult to manage infections. Researchers have started developing antibiotic-free treatment alternatives in order to decrease the risk of resistant microbial strain selection and for the efficient management of antibiotic tolerant biofilm infections. The present study reports the fabrication and characterization of magnetite-based nanostructured coatings for producing biofilm-resistant surfaces. Specifically, magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were functionalized with chitosan (CS) and were blended with lysozyme (LyZ) and were deposited using the matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique. A variety of characterization techniques were employed to investigate the physicochemical properties of both nanoparticles and nanocoatings. The biological characterization of the coatings assessed through cell viability and antimicrobial tests showed biocompatibility on osteoblasts as well as antiadhesive and antibiofilm activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains and no cytotoxic effect against human-cultured diploid cells.