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. 2021 Jul 1;9(7):1427.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9071427.

How Do Polymer Coatings Affect the Growth and Bacterial Population of a Biofilm Formed by Total Human Salivary Bacteria?-A Study by 16S-RNA Sequencing

Ali Al-Ahmad  1 , Kira Wollensak  1   2 , Sibylle Rau  1 , Diana Lorena Guevara Solarte  1 , Stefan Paschke  2 , Karen Lienkamp  2   3 , Ori Staszewski  4
Affiliations

How Do Polymer Coatings Affect the Growth and Bacterial Population of a Biofilm Formed by Total Human Salivary Bacteria?-A Study by 16S-RNA Sequencing

Ali Al-Ahmad et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Antimicrobial surface modifications are required to prevent biomaterial-associated biofilm infections, which are also a major concern for oral implants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of three different coatings on the biofilm formed by human saliva. Biofilms grown from human saliva on three different bioactive poly(oxanorbornene)-based polymer coatings (the protein-repellent PSB: poly(oxanorbornene)-based poly(sulfobetaine), the protein-repellent and antimicrobial PZI: poly(carboxyzwitterion), and the mildly antimicrobial and protein-adhesive SMAMP: synthetic mimics of antimicrobial peptides) were analyzed and compared with the microbial composition of saliva, biofilms grown on uncoated substrates, and biofilms grown in the presence of chlorhexidine digluconate. It was found that the polymer coatings significantly reduced the amount of adherent bacteria and strongly altered the microbial composition, as analyzed by 16S RNA sequencing. This may hold relevance for maintaining oral health and the outcome of oral implants due to the existing synergism between the host and the oral microbiome. Especially the reduction of some bacterial species that are associated with poor oral health such as Tannerella forsythia and Fusobacterium nucleatum (observed for PSB and SMAMP), and Prevotella denticola (observed for all coatings) may positively modulate the oral biofilm, including in situ.

Keywords: 16S RNA sequencing; antimicrobial surface modification; biofilm; implant-associated infections; polymer coating.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The effect of polymer coatings made from the protein-repellent PSB, the protein-repellent and antimicrobial PZI, and the mildly antimicrobial SMAMP on the growth and microbial composition of oral biofilms was studied.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total extractable RNA in the harvested biofilms as a percentage of the mean of the negative control (NegCtrl = uncoated silicon wafer, PosCtrl = uncoated silicon wafer with additional CHX). Stars depict significant differences as determined by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test. ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Top 20 most abundant bacterial genera, presented as CPM, for (a) bacteria found in saliva, (b) bacteria harvested from native biofilms grown on uncoated substrates, and (c) bacteria harvested from biofilms grown on uncoated substrates to which the disinfectant chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) had been added.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Top 20 most abundant bacterial species, presented as CPM, for (a) bacteria found in saliva, (b) bacteria harvested from native biofilms grown on uncoated substrates, and (c) bacteria harvested from biofilms grown on uncoated substrates to which the disinfectant chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) had been added.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Top 20 most abundant bacterial genera, presented as CPM, for bacteria harvested from native biofilms grown on uncoated substrates (NC, purple), and bacteria harvested from biofilms grown on polymer-coated substrates (PSB, red; PZI, turquois; SMAMP, green).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Top 20 most abundant bacterial species, presented as CPM, for bacteria harvested from native biofilms grown on uncoated substrates (NC, purple), and bacteria harvested from biofilms grown on polymer-coated substrates (PSB, red; PZI, turquois; SMAMP, green).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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