Theoretical and experimental investigations of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa adhesion on 3D printed resin

Three-dimensional (3D) printed resins are increasingly being used in clinical practice due to their simple processing, satisfactory biocompatibility, and mechanical strength. However, their widespread use in the medical field requires research on the susceptibility of their surfaces to be colonized by various bacteria since most infections are caused by the adhesion of bacteria to biomedical implants and devices. In this study, theoretical prediction and experimental assay of S. aureus CIP543154 and P. aeruginosa ATCC27653 adhesion on 3D printed resin were investigated using the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey and Overbeek (XDLVO) approach and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique. According to the values of the contact angle measurements and total interaction energy (ΔG ^XDLVO ), the adhesion of both hydrophilic bacterial strains on hydrophobic 3D printed resin was found unfavorable. In contrast, SEM and Matlab image analysis showed that S. aureus and P. aeruginosa were able to adhere to 3D printed resin at the four contact times tested (3, 5 10 and 24 h), with a higher percentage of adhesion of 92.96 and 92.15% at 3 h and 10 h, respectively. These results suggest that the use of 3D printed resin in the medical area requires investigations for increasing their resistance to bacterial adhesion.