Antibiofilm Activity of PDMS/TiO₂ against <i>Candida glabrata</i> through Inhibited Hydrophobic Recovery

Coatings with antibiofilm properties are desirable for biomedical applications. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has been explored as an antimicrobial agent in materials development primarily due to it being an excellent photocatalyst. <i>Candida glabrata</i> (<i>C. glabrata</i>) is an emerging human fungal pathogen with known high resistance to oxidative stress. Here, we fabricated a polydimethylsiloxane/titanium dioxide (PDMS/TiO₂) nanocomposite coating and tested its antibiofilm activities against <i>C. glabrata</i>. The resulting nanocomposite exhibited >50% reduction in <i>C. glabrata</i> biofilm formation with 2.5 wt % TiO₂ loading, even in the dark. Through ROS detection and surface characterization, the antibiofilm activity was attributed to the synergistic interaction of TiO₂ nanoparticles with the PDMS matrix, which resulted in the impediment of hydrophobic recovery. This work provides a design strategy to develop antibiofilm coatings against <i>C. glabrata</i>.