Precise tuning of microstructure for surface bacteriostasis using two-photon polymerization 3D printing technology

Abstract

In nature, many biological surfaces exhibit inherent bacteriostatic property due to the existence of special microstructures. However, the key factors and underlying mechanisms driving this property remain unclear. A significant challenge lies in the lack of proper techniques for precisely fabricating such microstructures as well as finely tuning their morphological parameters. In this study, we adopted a two-photon 3D printing-based approach to fabricate microstructures on specified surfaces with accurate control over their morphology, enabling the investigation of structural bacteriostasis. Through abstracting the subtle morphology on shark skin, we replicated their bacteriostatic microstructures and were able to regulate their morphology at the micron scale. By culturing Streptococcus mutans on the surface of these microstructures, we validated their bacteriostatic performance and demonstrated that morphological parameters significantly influenced the efficacy of structural bacteriostasis. Other kinds of microstructures such as micro-holes with bacteriostatic property could also be fabricated and investigated utilizing this two-photon polymerization technology. We believe this strategy offers a powerful tool for researching bacteriostatic mechanisms of various microstructures and will inspire their broad applications in both daily and industrial settings.

Keywords

3D printing / Antisepsis / Bacteriostatic microstructures / Biomimetics / Two-photon polymerization

Funding

This study was supported by Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2018M630883 and 2019T120688), Hubei Province Chinese Medicine Research Project (ZY2023Q015), Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2023AFB665), Central Universities (Wuhan University) Clinical Medicine + X (2042024YXB017), the Medical Young Talents Program of Hubei Province, and Wuhan Young Medical Talents Training Project to L.-L. Bu Natural Science Foundation of China (61904057), Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2018CFB124), and Research Programs of Science and Technology, Department of Education of Hubei Province (B2023256) to B. Cai, and International Orthodontics Foundation Young Research Grants Award (IOF2024Y11) to F.-Y. Huo.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no competing interests

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