Nanowire arrays with programmable geometries as a highly effective anti-biofilm surface

Biofilm-related microbial infections are the Achilles' heel of many implantable medical devices. Surface patterning with nanostructures in the form of vertically aligned silicon (Si) nanowires (VA-SiNWs) holds promise to prevent these often "incurable" infections. In this study, we fabricated arrays of highly ordered SiNWs varying in three geometric parameters, including height, pitch size, and tip diameter (sharpness). Anti-infective efficacies of fabricated SiNW arrays were assessed against representative laboratory reference bacterial strains, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> ATCC 25923 and <i>Escherichia coli</i> ATCC 25922, using a modified microwell biofilm assay representing microorganism-implant interactions at a liquid-solid interface. To further understand the role of individual geometric parameters to the SiNW-induced bacterial killing, SiNW arrays with stepwise changes in individual geometric parameters were compared. The force that NWs applied on bacterial cells was mathematically calculated. Our results suggested that NWs with specific geometries were able to kill adherent bacterial cells and prevent further biofilm formation on biomaterial surfaces. Tip diameter and pitch size appeared to be key factors of nanowires predetermining their anti-infectiveness. Mechanistic investigation found that tip diameter and pitch size co-determined the pressure that NWs put on the cell envelope. The most effective anti-infective NWs fabricated in our study (50 nm in tip diameter and 400 nm in pitch size for <i>S. aureus</i> and 50 nm in tip diameter and 800 nm in pitch size for <i>E. coli</i>) put pressures of approximately 2.79 Pa and 8.86 Pa to the cell envelop of <i>S. aureus</i> and <i>E. coli</i>, respectively, and induced cell lyses. In addition, these NWs retained their activities against clinical isolates of <i>S. aureus</i> and <i>E. coli</i> from patients with confirmed device-related infections and showed little toxicity against human fibroblast cells and red blood cells.