Bacterial Adhesion on Prosthetic and Orthotic Material Surfaces

Prosthetic and orthotic parts, such as prosthetic socket and inner sides of orthoses, are often in contact with human skin, giving bacteria the capability to adhere and form biofilms on the materials of those parts which can further cause infections. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of bacterial adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis on twelve different prosthetic and orthotic material surfaces and how roughness, hydrophobicity, and surface charge of this materials affect the adhesion. The roughness, contact angle, zeta potential of material surfaces, and adhesion rate of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were measured on all twelve prosthetic and orthotic materials, i.e., poly(methyl methacrylate), thermoplastic elastomer, three types of ethylene polyvinyl acetates (pure, with low-density polyethylene and with silver nanoparticles), silicone, closed-cell polyethylene foams with and without nanoparticles, thermo and natural cork, and artificial and natural leather. The greatest degree of adhesion was measured on both closed-cell polyethylene foams, followed by artificial thermo cork and leather. The lowest adhesion extent was observed on ethylene-vinyl acetate. The bacterial adhesion extent increases with the increasing surface roughness. Smaller deviations of this rule are the result of the surface’s hydrophobicity and charge.