Investigation of the Effects of Chemically Grafted Chitosan Nanofibers on P. aeruginosa PA01 Biofilm Formation Using Quartz Crystal Microbalance Technique

This study reports that quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is used to determine the effect of chitosan derivatives obtained by chemical method on biofilm inhibition. Plasma grafted chitosan (pchito) was modified chemically with both 5-methyl-4-phenyl-thiophene-3-carboxylic acid (MFTKA) and 4-(thiophene-2-sulfonylamino)-benzoic acid (TSABA). The quartz crystal electrode surfaces were coated with nanofibers of these chitosan derivatives by QCM-electrospinning techniques. The surface morphology and elemental compositions of nanofibers were examined using Scanning electron microscopy-Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 as model bacteria on the electrodes coated with nanofiber was examined as a function of time using a flow-cell through QCM.