Showing papers by "Vi Khanh Truong published in 2012"

Natural Bactericidal Surfaces: Mechanical Rupture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cells by Cicada Wings

Abstract: Natural superhydrophobic surfaces are often thought to have antibiofouling potential due to their self-cleaning properties. However, when incubated on cicada wings, Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells are not repelled; instead they are penetrated by the nanopillar arrays present on the wing surface, resulting in bacterial cell death. Cicada wings are effective antibacterial, as opposed to antibiofouling, surfaces.

Air-directed attachment of coccoid bacteria to the surface of superhydrophobic lotus-like titanium

Abstract: Superhydrophobic titanium surfaces fabricated by femtosecond laser ablation to mimic the structure of lotus leaves were assessed for their ability to retain coccoid bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus CIP 65.8T, S. aureus ATCC 25923, S. epidermidis ATCC 14990T and Planococcus maritimus KMM 3738 were retained by the surface, to varying degrees. However, each strain was found to preferentially attach to the crevices located between the microscale surface features. The upper regions of the microscale features remained essentially cell-free. It was hypothesised that air entrapped by the topographical features inhibited contact between the cells and the titanium substratum. Synchrotron SAXS revealed that even after immersion for 50 min, nano-sized air bubbles covered 45% of the titanium surface. After 1 h the number of cells of S. aureus CIP 65.8T attached to the lotus-like titanium increased to 1.27 × 105 mm−2, coinciding with the replacement of trapped air by the incubation medium.

Roughness Parameters for Standard Description of Surface Nanoarchitecture

Abstract: The nanoarchitecture and surface roughness of metallic thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering were analyzed to determine the topographical statistics that give the optimum description of their nanoarchitechture. Nanoscale topographical profiles were generated by performing atomic force microscopy (AFM) scans of 1 μm × 1 μm areas of titanium and silver films of three different thicknesses (3 nm, 12 nm, and 150 nm). Of the titanium films, the 150-nm film had the highest average roughness (R(a) = 2.63 nm), more than four times that of the 3-nm and 12-nm titanium films. When silver films were coated on top of 150-nm titanium films, the average roughness increased further; the 3-nm (R(a) = 4.96 nm) and 150-nm (R(a) = 4.65 nm) silver films average roughnesses were approximately twice that of the 150-nm titanium film. For topographical analysis, seven statistical parameters were calculated. These parameters included commonly used roughness measurements, as well as some less commonly used measurements, in order to determine which combination of parameters gave the best overall description of the nanoarchitecture of the films presented. Skewness (R(skw)), surface area increase (R(sa)), and peak counts (R(pc)) provided the best description of horizontal surface dimensions, and in conjunction with vertical descriptors R(a) and R(q) gave the best characterization of surface architecture. The five roughness parameters R(a), R(q), R(skw), R(sa), and R(pc) are proposed as a new standard for describing surface nanoarchitecture.

Spatial Variations and Temporal Metastability of the Self-Cleaning and Superhydrophobic Properties of Damselfly Wings

Abstract: Self-cleaning surfaces found in nature show great potential for application in many fields, ranging from industry to medicine. The ability for a surface to self-clean is intimately related to the wetting properties of the surface; for a surface to possess self-cleaning ability it must exhibit extremely high water contact angles and low water adhesion. While investigating the self-cleaning properties of damselfly wings, significant spatial variations in surface wettability were observed. Within an area of 100 μm × 100 μm of the wing surface the water contact angle was found to vary up to 17.8°, while remaining consistently superhydrophobic. The contributions of both surface chemistry and topography to the hydrophobicity of the wings were assessed in an effort to explain these variations. Synchrotron-sourced Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy revealed that some of the major components of the wing were aliphatic hydrocarbons and esters, which are attributable to epicuticular lipids. The wing topogr...

Investigation of bacterial attachment patterns on micro-and nano-restricted surface topographies

Abstract: ................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. iii Declaration ............................................................................................................. v List of publications ................................................................................................. vi List of tables ........................................................................................................... xvi List of figures ......................................................................................................... xviii CHAPTER

Influence of Titanium Alloying Element Substrata on Bacterial Adhesion

Abstract: Titanium and titanium alloys have been widely employed in many load-bearing orthopaedic applications due to their excellent strength and corrosion resistance. However, postimplantation infections might occur even though considerable studies have been made. Choosing a bio-friendly alloying element is one way to reduce infection risk. The aim of this study is to evaluate the extent of bacterial attachment on titanium, tantalum, niobium and tin surfaces. Two pathogenic bacterial strains, namely Staphylococcus aureus CIP 65.8 T and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, were used in this study. Quantification of bacterial attachment was performed using scanning electron microscopy. Results indicated that the surface chemistry and topography of the investigated materials significantly influence the degree of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus adhesion; however, surface wettability did not show a significant impact upon bacterial retention. In this study, tin was shown to be the most attractive material for bacteria adhesion but tantalum limits the bacterial adhesion. Therefore, it is suggested to limit the amount of tin as an titanium alloying element due to its nature to attract P. aeruginosa and S. aureus adhesion.

Fabrication of Ti14Nb4Sn alloys for bone tissue engineering applications

Abstract: In this paper, porous Ti14Nb4Sn alloys were fabricated using a space holder sintering method, resulting in a porosity of ∼70%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed a combination of both macropore and micropore structures. The fabricated titanium alloy scaffolds exhibited a similar structure to that of natural bone, which is expected to improve bone implant longevity. Bacterial cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 were employed for the in vitro test.