Colonization of electrospun polycaprolactone fibers by relevant pathogenic bacterial strains

Abstract

Electrospun biodegradable polymers have emerged as promising materials for their applications in several fields, including biomedicine and food industry. For this reason, the susceptibility of these materials to be colonized by different pathogens is a critical issue for public health, and their study can provide future knowledge to develop new strategies against bacterial infections. In this work, the ability of three pathogenic bacterial species (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Listeria monocytogenes) to adhere and form biofilm in electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) microfibrous meshes was investigated. Bacterial attachment was analyzed in meshes with different microstructure, and comparisons with other materials (borosilicate glass and electrospun polylactic acid (PLA)) fibers were assessed. Analysis included colony forming unit (CFU) counts, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and crystal violet (CV) staining. All the obtained data suggest that PCL meshes, regardless of their microstructure, are highly susceptible to be colonized by the pathogenic relevant bacteria used in this study, so a pretreatment or a functionalization with compounds that present some antimicrobial activity or antibiofilm properties is highly recommended before their application. Moreover, an experiment designed to simulate a chronic wound environment was used to demonstrate the ability of these meshes to detach biofilms from the substratum where they have developed, thus making them promising candidates to be used in wound cleaning and disinfection.