Abstract

Bacterial adhesion has been identified as the critical initial step in the pathogenesis of foreign body related infection. Recent investigations have shown microbial binding to implanted polymeric materials using specific adhesion of bacteria to immobilized plasma proteins, such as fibrin. These proteins are thought to function as bridging molecules to facilitate bacterial colonization of the surface. The authors' results indicated a significant reduction in adhesion of biofilm forming Pseudomonas aeruginosa and coagulase negative Staphylococcus epidermidis to immobilized fibrin strands in the presence of platelet poor plasma (PPP) as compared to studies performed with phosphate buffered saline and Hank's balanced salt solution. A 10-fold decrease in the number of adherent bacteria was noted for samples exposed to PPP as compared to control samples. The effective range of PPP concentrations capable of producing the marked decrease in binding to fibrin strands was determined to be 1–100% for P. aeruginosa and 4–100% for S. epidermidis.

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