Reduction of bacterial adhesion on laser etched surfaces for reducing pin tract infections

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to prepare a range of micro-nano structure surfaces to inhibit bacterial adhesion. The effect of surface morphology on bacterial adhesion was thus studied both theoretically and experimentally. In this study a picosecond laser etching on 316L stainless steel samples was used to generate a series of microstructures (0.18 μm-2 μm). The surface properties of these micro-nano structures were characterised using the water contact angle method, while the surface morphology was characterised using scanning electron microscope, and bacterial adhesion evaluation was performed using fluorescence microscopy. The results showed that, compared with the original stainless steel, micro-nano structured surfaces can effectively reduce bacterial adhesion, and the surfaces are super hydrophilic. The influence of contact time on bacterial adhesion was then studied for various soaking times. Surface wettability and the relationship between the size of bacteria and the size of the micro-nano structures were studied to explain the bacterial adhesion mechanism.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Dundee
Supervisor	Qi Zhao (Supervisor)