title: Adherence to and accumulation of S. epidermidis on different biomaterials due to extracellular slime production. In vitro comparison of a slime-producing strain (Rp 62 A) and its isogenic slime negative mutant (M7).
abstract: In an in vitro study, the bacterial adherence of a slime-producing strain (RP 62 A) was compared with its isogenic slime-negative mutant (M7). Standardized biomaterial discs were incubated under growth conditions in tryptic soy broth containing either strain RP 62 A or M7. After 24 h of incubation, the attached bacteria were removed by sonication and the colony-forming units were counted after plating of serial dilutions. We observed a significantly increased adherence and accumulation of the slime-producing strain (RP 62 A). In contrast to the slime negative mutant (M7) (p = 0.0001). The highest colony counts were found for the slime-producing strain on polyethylene and polymethylmethacrylate. The slime-negative mutant lacked the ability of accumulation. Our in-vitro results show the relevance of slime production by S. epidermidis for in-vitro colonisation of biomaterials, with a preference for polyethylene and polymethylmethacrylate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cologne University, Germany.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perdreau-Remington
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rütt
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hilgers
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schierholz
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D009154:Mutation; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial