Kong\u2019s group<\/a> developed tiny cylinders made of biosilica coated in manganese dioxide, a catalyst which releases tiny oxygen bubbles when exposed to a hydrogen peroxide solution. The bubbles accumulate within the hollow cylinder, then are released, propelling the microparticles even deeper into the matrix where they continue to produce bubbles, said graduate student Joo Hun Lee, the first author of the first paper. The researchers watched the bubbles form and rupture, the particles move and biofilm disperse using high-speed cameras and Optical Coherence Tomography in collaboration with Stephen Boppart<\/a>, a U. of I. professor of bioengineering<\/a> and professor of biomedical and translational sciences in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bubble-generating microparticles infiltrate a thick biofilm. As bubbles are released, coalesce and burst, they disrupt and clear away the dense matrix of the biofilm. Video by Yujin Ahn.<\/p>\n As well as describing the microparticles in the first paper, published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, the researchers demonstrated the microparticles\u2019 ability to clean stubborn biofilms from surgical instruments.<\/p>\n While the standard method of cleaning surgical tools involves enzymatic detergents combined with autoclaving \u2014\u00a0a process using steam at high heat and pressure \u2014 biofilms can stubbornly cling to tiny crevasses or serrations in the tools, Lee said.<\/p>\n The Illinois team compared the biofilms remaining within the serrations of surgical instruments after the typical protocol with those remaining after treatment with the microparticles. They found a similar or better efficacy with the microparticles. As an additional boost, the microparticle cleaning can be combined with autoclaving, Kong said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe show a five-fold reduction in remaining biofilm with our particles at higher temperature. And then on top of that, we saw that in the teeth of forceps \u2014 a model surgical instrument \u2014 the enzymatic surfactant does not easily go into confined areas and cannot remove the bacterial film from those areas. But with our particle system, we actually could remove the films in those spaces. That\u2019s a huge difference,\u201d Kong said.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Biofilm, a dense matrix of proteins and bacteria, can hide in the grooves of surgical instruments even after standard cleaning procedures. Bubble-generating microparticles can remove it. Image by Yujin Ahn<\/p>\n