Abstract
Antimicrobial coatings for medical implants are critical in preventing device failures and infections. Antibiotics are often used as prophylactic or coatings but fail to prevent biofilm formation and drive antibiotic resistance. Herein, the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of different polyhydroxy fullerene-based metal nanoparticle coatings on polyurethane discs were quantified after exposure to Escherichia coli. Gold-silver nanoparticles (GSNP) exhibited superior antibacterial activity compared to other silver-containing nanoparticles. GSNPs were evaluated against Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter hormaechei, Klebsiella oxytoca, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from ureteral stents and inflatable penile prostheses and achieved 100% reduction of all tested urologic pathogens at physiological relevant bacterial loads (p < 0.0001). GSNPs inactivate bacteria by reactive oxygen species production with the estimated minimum inhibitory concentrations slightly higher for Gram-positive than Gram-negative bacteria with highest observed for S. epidermidis at 2.23 µg/mL. Safety studies with fibroblasts demonstrate that GSNPs at estimated minimum inhibitory concentrations have minimal effect (< 20%) on cell viability. Further, the GSNPs were able to reduce bacteria by six logs more than commercial nanoparticles. GSNPs represent a promising strategy for preventing biofilm formation on medical devices and implants due to their broad antibacterial activity and low toxicity.
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All data analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the support from Dr. Robert Williams from Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS), The Ohio State University for AC-TEM and XEDS imaging.
Funding
The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Cleveland Clinic Caregiver Catalyst Award, Research Program Committee, and seed funds from the Lerner Research Institute. JSRA was supported by the Urology Department at Cleveland Clinic. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.
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JGA, SD, AM and VK conceived and designed the study. YX and VK synthesized and characterized the nanomaterials. JSRA and AM performed microbiological assays. All authors read and approved of the final manuscript.
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V.K. has a patent on the synthesis of metal nanoparticles used in this study. The authors declare that they have no competing interests. All other authors declare no financial competing interests.
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This study received Institutional Review Board (Cleveland Clinic) approval No. 22–294 and 20–415. Informed consent was obtained from participants via Institutional Review Board-approved study protocol No. 20–415.
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Rodriguez-Alvarez, J.S., Xu, Y., Gutierrez-Aceves, J. et al. Broad spectrum antimicrobial nanoparticles with low toxicity to prevent biofilm formation on urologic devices. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36969-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36969-2
