Performance of chitosan nanoparticle-loaded irrigants on biofilm disruption

TL;DR

Chitosan nanoparticle irrigants, especially at higher concentrations, effectively disrupt biofilms caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, outperforming traditional treatments.

Contribution

Demonstrates that 2% chitosan nanoparticles significantly disrupt biofilms better than lower concentrations and chlorhexidine.

Findings

2% chitosan nanoparticles reduced biofilm biomass by 89.7±3.2%.

2% chitosan nanoparticles reduced bacterial viability by 4.8±0.3 log10 CFU/mL.

Higher chitosan concentrations outperformed chlorhexidine and lower chitosan concentrations.

Abstract

Biofilm-associated infections pose a major clinical problem due to their resistance to conventional antimicrobial therapies.
Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the effectiveness of chitosan nanoparticle-loaded irrigants in disrupting established
Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Using in vitro 96-well plate models, biofilm biomass reduction and bacterial
viability were assessed with crystal violet assay, CFU counts and SEM imaging after exposure to 2% and 1% chitosan nanoparticles, 0.2%
chlorhexidine and saline. Data showed that 2% chitosan nanoparticles produced the greatest biofilm disruption (89.7±3.2%) and
bacterial reduction (4.8±0.3 log10 CFU/mL), significantly outperforming 1% chitosan and chlorhexidine. Thus, we show that chitosan
nanoparticle irrigants, particularly at higher concentrations, may serve as effective alternatives for managing biofilm-associated
infections.