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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2004, p. 6871-6874, Vol. 70, No. 11
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.11.6871-6874.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Electric Current-Induced Detachment of Staphylococcus epidermidis Biofilms from Surgical Stainless Steel

Arnout J. van der Borden, Hester van der Werf, Henny C. van der Mei,* and Henk J. Busscher

Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Received 18 May 2004/ Accepted 4 July 2004

Biomaterial-centered infections of orthopedic percutaneous implants are serious complications which can ultimately lead to osteomyelitis, with devastating effects on bone and surrounding tissues, especially since the biofilm mode of growth offers protection against antibiotics and since removal frequently is the only ultimate solution. Recently, it was demonstrated that as a possible pathway to prevent infections of percutaneous stainless steel implants, electric currents of 60 to 100 µA were effective at stimulating the detachment of initially adhering staphylococci from surgical stainless steel. However, initially adhering bacteria are known to adhere more reversibly than bacteria growing in the later stages of biofilm formation. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine whether a growing Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm can be stimulated to detach from surgical stainless steel by the use of electric currents. In separate experiments, four currents, i.e., 60 and 100 µA of direct current (DC) and 60 and 100 µA of block current (50% duty cycle, 1 Hz), were applied for 360 min to stimulate the detachment of an S. epidermidis biofilm that had grown for 200 min. A 100-µA DC yielded 78% detachment, whereas a 100-µA block current under the same experimental conditions yielded only 31% detachment. The same trend was found for 60 µA, with 37% detachment for a DC and 24% for a block current. Bacteria remaining on the surface after the current application were less viable than they were prior to the current application, as demonstrated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. In conclusion, these results suggest that DCs are preferred for curing infections.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713AV Groningen, The Netherlands. Phone: 31503633140. Fax: 31503633159. E-mail: h.c.van.der.mei{at}med.rug.nl.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2004, p. 6871-6874, Vol. 70, No. 11
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.11.6871-6874.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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