Synthesis of Electrospun TiO₂ Nanofibers and Characterization of Their Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Potential against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria

• Main Authors: Mohammad Azam Ansari (Author), Hani Manssor Albetran (Author), Muidh Hamed Alheshibri (Author), Abdelmajid Timoumi (Author), Norah Abdullah Algarou (Author), Sultan Akhtar (Author), Yassine Slimani (Author), Munirah Abdullah Almessiere (Author), Fatimah Saad Alahmari (Author), Abdulhadi Baykal (Author), It-Meng Low (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2020-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Recently, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanomaterials have gained increased attention because of their cost-effective, safe, stable, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, photocatalytic, bactericidal, biomedical, industrial and waste-water treatment applications. The aim of the present work is the synthesis of electrospun TiO₂ nanofibers (NFs) in the presence of different amounts of air-argon mixtures using sol-gel and electrospinning approaches. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized NFs were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of synthesized NFs against Gram-negative <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> and Gram-positive methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus</i><i>aureus</i> (MRSA) was investigated by determining their minimum bacteriostatic and bactericidal values. The topological and morphological alteration caused by TiO₂ NFs in bacterial cells was further analyzed by SEM. TiO₂ NFs that were calcined in a 25% air-75% argon mixture showed maximum antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)/minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value of TiO₂ NFs against <i>P. aeruginosa</i> was 3 and 6 mg/mL and that for MRSA was 6 and 12 mg/mL, respectively. The MIC/MBC and SEM results show that TiO₂ NFs were more active against Gram-negative <i>P. aeruginosa</i> cells than Gram-positive <i>S. aureus</i>. The inhibition of biofilm formation by TiO₂ NFs was investigated quantitatively by tissue culture plate method using crystal violet assay and it was found that TiO₂ NFs inhibited biofilm formation by MRSA and <i>P. aeruginosa</i> in a dose-dependent manner. TiO₂ NFs calcined in a 25% air-75% argon mixture exhibited maximum biofilm formation inhibition of 75.2% for MRSA and 72.3% for <i>P. aeruginosa</i> at 2 mg/mL, respectively. The antibacterial and antibiofilm results suggest that TiO₂ NFs can be used to coat various inanimate objects, in food packaging and in waste-water treatment and purification to prevent bacterial growth and biofilm formation.

Item Description

10.3390/antibiotics9090572
2079-6382