  Bacterial attachment and biofilm formation on implant surface has been a
major concern in hospital and industrial environment. Prevention of bacterial
infections of implant surface through surface treatment could be a potential
solution and hence this has become a key area of research. In the present
study, the antibacterial and biocompatible properties of femtosecond laser
surface treated 45S5 bioactive glass (BG) have been investigated. Adhesion and
sustainability of both gram positive S. aureus and gram negative P.aeruginosa
and E. coli nosocomial bacteria on untreated and laser treated BG samples has
been explored. An imprint method has been used to visualize the growth of
bacteria on the sample surface. We observed complete bacterial rejection
potentially reducing risk of biofilm formation on laser treated surface. This
was correlated with surface roughness, wettability and change in surface
chemical composition of the samples before and after laser treatment.
Biocompatibility of the laser treated BG was demonstrated by studying the
anchoring and growth of human cervix cell line INT407. Our results demonstrate
that, laser surface modification of BG enables enhanced bacterial rejection
without affecting its biocompatibility towards growth of human cells on it.
These results open a significantly potential approach towards use of laser in
successfully imparting desirable characteristics to BG based bio-implants and
devices.
