Flexible Hierarchical Wraps Repel Drug-Resistant Gram-Negative and Positive Bacteria

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Infectious Disease Prevention
• Surface Science

Background:

• Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) pose a significant global health challenge.
• The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria exacerbates the problem of HAIs.
• Engineered surfaces offer a promising strategy to mitigate bacterial adhesion and proliferation, reducing antibiotic reliance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a flexible plastic wrap engineered to prevent bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation, and transfer.
• To evaluate the efficacy of these wraps against priority bacterial pathogens.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of flexible plastic wraps with a hierarchical wrinkled structure and chemical functionalization.
• Assessment of bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation using Gram-positive methicillin-resistant *Staphylococcus aureus* (MRSA) and Gram-negative *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*.
• Evaluation of bacterial transfer using Gram-negative *Escherichia coli* (E. coli).

Main Results:

• Hierarchical wraps reduced MRSA biofilm formation by 87% and *P. aeruginosa* by 84%.
• Surfaces remained free of *E. coli* after contact with a contaminated surface.
• Bacterial repellency attributed to broad liquid repellency and reduced adhesion anchor points on the hierarchical structure.

Conclusions:

• Scalable, bottom-up fabrication of hierarchical wrinkled wraps provides an effective solution for preventing bacterial contamination.
• These wraps offer superior performance compared to top-down and substrate-specific surface modification methods.
• The engineered surfaces demonstrate potential for reducing HAIs and the need for antibiotics.