Adhesion behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria on nanostructured films based on chitosan: studies at the micro and nanoscales.

Abstract

An important line of research in bioactive materials aims specifically at obtaining coatings that provide antimicrobial resistant surfaces which are also non-toxic, biodegradable and suitable for contact with food or humans. This project intends to study the adhesion behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus on the different types of nanostructured films based on chitosan deposited on glass slides. To achieve the desired antimicrobial activity, the process of cell adhesion should be better understood, taking into account the influence of the properties of biomaterials in scales of interest to the problem. Emphasis will be placed, during the development of this work, on techniques with spatial resolution (optical, confocal Raman, scanning probe and electron microscopy), since the use of this ensemble of spectroscopy and microscopy techniques have revealed important information about the behavior of biofilm formation as a function of bacterial adhesion and proliferation at micro and nanoscales. The results of the characterization will be correlated with the antimicrobial activity inferred from specific tests with micro-organisms of great importance for applications in the biomedical field. At the core of the development of technological innovation, we expect to incorporate frontier research in which interactions at the molecular level and surface properties are studied, making possible high impact scientific contributions.