A modular reactor to simulate biofilm development in orthopedic materials

ABSTRACT

Surfaces of medical implants are generally designed to encourage soft- and/or hard-tissue adherence, eventuallyleading to tissue- or osseo-integration. Unfortunately, this feature may also encourage bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation.To understand the mechanisms of bone tissue infection associated with contaminated biomaterials, a detailed understanding ofbacterial adhesion and subsequent biofilm formation on biomaterial surfaces is needed. In this study, a continuous-flow modularreactor composed of several modular units placed in parallel was designed to evaluate the activity of circulating bacterialsuspensions and thus their predilection for biofilm formation during 72 h of incubation. Hydroxyapatite discs were placed ineach modular unit and then removed at fixed times to quantify biofilm accumulation. Biofilm formation on each replicate ofmaterial, unchanged in structure, morphology, or cell density, was reproducibly observed. The modular reactor therefore provedto be a useful tool for following mature biofilm formation on different surfaces and under conditions similar to those prevailingnear human-bone implants (AU)

RESUMEN

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