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Faced with the current situation of high rates of microbial resistance, together with the scarcity of new antibiotics, it is necessary to search for and identify new antimicrobials, preferably natural, to alleviate this situation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of carvacrol (CAR), a phenolic compound of essential oils, against pathogenic microorganisms causing oral infections, such as Streptococcus mutans and S. sanguinis, never evaluated before. The minimum inhibitory and the minimum bactericidal concentration were 93.4 μg/mL and 373.6 μg/mL, respectively, for the two strains. The growth kinetics under different concentrations of CAR, as well as the bactericidal power were determined. The subinhibitory concentrations delayed and decreased bacterial growth. Its efficacy on mature biofilms was also tested. Finally, the possible hemolytic effect of CAR, not observable at the bactericidal concentrations under study, was evaluated. Findings obtained point to CAR as an excellent alternative agent to safely prevent periodontal diseases. In addition, it is important to highlight the use of an experimental methodology that includes dual-species biofilm and subinhibitory concentration models to determine optimal CAR treatment concentrations. Thus, CAR could be used preventively in mouthwashes or biomaterials, or in treatments to avoid existing antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Formation of thin films on titanium alloys incorporating bioactive small molecules or macromolecules is a route to improve their biocompatibility. Aminoalkylsilanes are commonly employed as interface reagents that combine good adhesion properties with an amino tail group susceptible of further functionalization. This article introduces a reproducible methodology to obtain a cross-linked polymer-type brush structure of covalently-bonded aminoalkylsiloxane chains on Ti6Al4V. The experimental protocol can be fine-tuned to provide a high density of surface-coated amino groups (threshold value: 2.1±0.1×10−8 molcm−2) as proven by chemical and spectrophotometric analyses. Using a model reaction involving the condensation of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) on Ti6Al4V alloy, we herein show the effects of reaction temperature, reaction time and solvent humidity on the composition and structure of the film. The stability of the resulting coating under physiological-like conditions as well as the possibility of surface re-silanization has also been evaluated. To verify if detrimental effects on the biological performance of the Ti6Al4V alloy were induced by this coverage, human primary osteoblasts behavior, Staphylococci adhesion and biofilm formation have been tested and compared to the Ti6Al4V oxidized surface. Reaction with trans-cinnamaldehyde has used in order to determine useful amino groups at aminosilanized surface, XPS and UV analyses of imino derivatives generated reveal that almost a 50% of these groups are actually available at the siloxane chains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, the influence of nanometer scale roughness on bacterial adhesion and subsequent biofilm formation has been evaluated using spatially organized microtopographic surface patterns for four major opportunistic pathogens of the genus Staphylococcus ( S. epidermidis and S. aureus ) responsible for associated-biofilm infections on biomedical devices. The results presented demonstrated that regardless of the strain employed the initial adhesion events to these surfaces are directed by cell-surface contact points maximisation and thus, bacterial cells actively choose their position to settle based on that principle. Accordingly, bacterial cells were found to preferably adhere to the square corners and convex walls of recessed surface features rather than the flat or concave walls of equal protruding features. This finding reveals, for the first time, that the particular shape of the surfaces features employed potentially determined the initial location of the adhering cells on textured surfaces. It was further shown that all surfaces patterns investigated produce a significant reduction in bacterial adhesion (40–95%) and biofilm formation (22–58%). This important observation could not be related to physical constrains or increased solid surface hydrophobicity, as previously suggested by other authors using engineered topographies with microscale surface roughness. It is evident that other causes, such as nanoscale surface roughness-induced interaction energies, might be controlling the process of bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on surfaces with well-defined nanoscale topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]