AUTHOR=Tamimi Iskandar , Gasca María , Halbardier Alexandra , Martin Sergio , Martin Caballero Gregorio , Lucena Serrano Cristina , Martin Elena , Tamimi Faleh , González-Quevedo David , García de Quevedo David , Sobrino Beatriz , Palop Begoña , Guerado Enrique , Pérez Lara Almudena , Urdiales Cristina , Gómez de Gabriel Jesús Manuel 

TITLE=The treatment of bacterial biofilms cultivated on knee arthroplasty implants using the bioelectric effect

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2024.1426388

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2024.1426388

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> The formation of bacterial biofilms on knee arthroplasty implants can have catastrophic consequences. The aim of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of the bioelectric effect in the elimination of bacterial biofilms on cultivated knee arthroplasty implants.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A novel device was designed to deliver a bioelectric effect on the surface of knee arthroplasty implants. 4-femoral prosthetic implants were cultivated with a <italic>staphylococcus aureus</italic> inoculum for 15 days. The components were divided into four different groups: A (not treated), B (normal saline 20-minutes), C (bioelectric effect 10-minutes), D (bioelectric effect 20-minutes). The implants were sonicated, and the detached colonies were quantified as the number of colony-forming unit (CFUs). The implants were sterilised and the process was repeated in a standardized manner four more times, to obtain a total of five samples per group.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The number of the CFUs after a 10-minute exposure to the bioelectric effect was of 208.2 ± 240.4, compared with 6,041.6 ± 2010.7 CFUs in group A, representing a decrease of 96.5% ± 4.3 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.004). And a diminution of 91.8% ± 7.9 compared with 2,051.0 ± 1,364.0 CFUs in group B (<italic>p</italic> = 0.109). The number of bacterial colonies after a 20-minute exposure to the bioelectric effect was 70 ± 126.7 CFUs, representing a decrease of 98.9% ± 1.9 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.000) compared with group A. And a decrease of 97.8% ± 3.0 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.019) compared with group B.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> The bioelectric effect was effective in the elimination of bacterial biofilm from knee arthroplasty implants. This method could be used in the future as part of conventional surgical procedures.</p>