Sutures are widely used materials for closing the surgical wounds, and being an inert material, sutures are often colonized with drug-resistant polymicrobial biofilms. Surgical site infection (SSI) is a hospital-acquired infection caused by bacteria and fungi specifically in the sutured sites. Although most of the currently available sutures possess antibacterial property, their ability to prevent biofilm colonization by polymicrobial communities is underexplored. So, the present study shows that extracted chitosan (EC) from crab shells prevented the adherence of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans , the predominant members that exist as mixed species at the site of SSI. In comparison with a commercial chitosan, EC showed profound inhibition of slime formation and mixed species biofilm inhibition. Intriguingly, EC-coated sutures could inhibit the growth of both bacterial and fungal pathogens when comparing with a commercial triclosan-coated suture which was active only against the bacterial pathogen. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed inhibition of C. albicans hyphal formation by the EC-coated sutures that is a crucial virulence factor responsible for tissue invasiveness. Collectively, the results of the present study showed that EC from crab shells (discarded material as a recalcitrant biowaste) could be used as an alternative to combat drug-resistant biofilms which are the prime cause for SSIs.

中文翻译：

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壳聚糖涂层手术缝合线可防止混合微生物群落的粘附和生物膜

缝合线是用于闭合手术伤口的广泛使用的材料，并且作为一种惰性材料，缝合线经常被耐药性多微生物生物膜定植。手术部位感染（SSI）是由细菌和真菌引起的医院获得性感染，特别是在缝合部位。尽管目前大多数可用的缝合线都具有抗菌特性，但它们防止多种微生物群落生物膜定植的能力尚未得到充分探索。因此，本研究表明，从蟹壳中提取的壳聚糖 (EC) 阻止了表皮葡萄球菌和白色念珠菌的粘附，这些主要成员在 SSI 位点以混合物种形式存在。与商业壳聚糖相比，EC 显示出对粘液形成和混合物种生物膜抑制的显着抑制。耐人寻味的是，与仅对细菌病原体有活性的商业三氯生涂层缝合线相比，EC 涂层缝合线可以抑制细菌和真菌病原体的生长。扫描电子显微镜结果显示，EC 包被的缝合线抑制了白色念珠菌菌丝的形成，这是负责组织侵袭性的关键毒力因子。总的来说，本研究的结果表明，蟹壳中的 EC（作为顽固的生物废物丢弃的材料）可用作对抗耐药性生物膜的替代品，而耐药性生物膜是 SSI 的主要原因。由 EC 涂层缝合线形成的白色念珠菌菌丝是负责组织侵袭性的关键毒力因子。总的来说，本研究的结果表明，蟹壳中的 EC（作为顽固的生物废物丢弃的材料）可用作对抗耐药性生物膜的替代品，而耐药性生物膜是 SSI 的主要原因。由 EC 涂层缝合线形成的白色念珠菌菌丝是负责组织侵袭性的关键毒力因子。总的来说，本研究的结果表明，蟹壳中的 EC（作为顽固的生物废物丢弃的材料）可用作对抗耐药性生物膜的替代品，而耐药性生物膜是 SSI 的主要原因。