Oxidizing agents like hypochlorous acid (HOCl) have antimicrobial activity. We developed an integrated electrochemical scaffold, or e-scaffold, that delivers a continuous low dose of HOCl aimed at targeting microbial biofilms without exceeding concentrations toxic to humans as a prototype of a device being developed to treat wound infections in humans. In this work, we tested the device against 33 isolates of bacteria (including isolates with acquired antibiotic resistance) grown as in vitro biofilms alongside 12 combinations of dual-species in vitro biofilms. Biofilms were grown on the bottoms of 12-well plates for 24 h. An integrated e-scaffold was placed atop each biofilm and polarized at 1.5 V for 1, 2, or 4 h. HOCl was produced electrochemically by oxidizing chloride ions (Cl⁻) in solution to chlorine (Cl₂); dissolved Cl₂ spontaneously dissociates in water to produce HOCl. The cumulative concentration of HOCl produced at the working electrode in each well was estimated to be 7.89, 13.46, and 29.50 mM after 1, 2, and 4 h of polarization, respectively. Four hours of polarization caused an average reduction of 6.13 log₁₀ CFU/cm² (±1.99 log₁₀ CFU/cm²) of viable cell counts of monospecies biofilms and 5.53 log₁₀ CFU/cm² (±2.31 log₁₀ CFU/cm²) for the 12 dual-species biofilms studied. The described integrated e-scaffold reduces viable bacterial cell counts in biofilms formed by an array of antibiotic-susceptible and -resistant bacteria alone and in combination.

中文翻译：

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一种集成的产生 HOCl 的电子支架对单微生物和多微生物生物膜具有活性

次氯酸 (HOCl) 等氧化剂具有抗菌活性。我们开发了一种集成的电化学支架或电子支架，它提供连续低剂量的 HOCl，旨在针对微生物生物膜，而不会超过对人类有毒的浓度，作为正在开发的用于治疗人类伤口感染的设备的原型。在这项工作中，我们针对 33 种细菌分离物（包括具有获得性抗生素耐药性的分离物）与 12 种双物种体外生物膜组合一起作为体外生物膜生长，对该装置进行了测试。生物膜在 12 孔板底部生长 24 小时。一个集成的电子支架被放置在每个生物膜的顶部，并在 1.5 V 下极化 1、2 或 4 小时。HOCl 是通过氧化氯离子 (Cl⁻ ) 在氯 (Cl ₂ )溶液中；溶解的Cl ₂在水中自发分解生成HOCl。在极化 1、2 和 4 小时后，每个孔中工作电极产生的 HOCl 累积浓度估计分别为 7.89、13.46 和 29.50 mM。四小时的极化导致单一物种生物膜的活细胞计数平均减少 6.13 log ₁₀ CFU/cm ² (±1.99 log ₁₀ CFU/cm ² ) 和 5.53 log ₁₀ CFU/cm ² (±2.31 log ₁₀ CFU/cm ^{2 )}) 用于研究的 12 个双物种生物膜。所描述的集成电子支架减少了由一系列抗生素敏感和耐药细菌单独和组合形成的生物膜中的活细菌细胞计数。