Bacterial Retention on Superhydrophobic Titanium Surfaces Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser Ablation

Elena Fadeeva, Vi Khanh Truong, Meike Stiesch, Boris N. Chichkov, Russell J. Crawford, James Wang, Elena P. Ivanova

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

375 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Two-tier micro- and nanoscale quasi-periodic self-organized structures, mimicking the surface of a lotus Nelumbo nucifera leaf, were fabricated on titanium surfaces using femtosecond laser ablation. The first tier consisted of large grainlike convex features between 10 and 20 μm in size. The second tier existed on the surface of these grains, where 200 nm (or less) wide irregular undulations were present. The introduction of the biomimetic surface patterns significantly transformed the surface wettabilty of the titanium surface. The original surface possessed a water contact angle of θW 73 ± 3°, whereas the laser-treated titanium surface became superhydrophobic, with a water contact angle of θW 166 ± 4°. Investigations of the interaction of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa with these superhydrophobic surfaces at the surface-liquid interface revealed a highly selective retention pattern for two pathogenic bacteria. While S. aureus cells were able to successfully colonize the superhydrophobic titanium surfaces, no P. aeruginosa cells were able to attach to the surface (i.e., any attached bacterial cells were below the estimated lower detection limit).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3012-3019
Number of pages8
JournalLangmuir
Volume27
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Mar 2011
Externally publishedYes

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