BACTERIAL SURFACE-PROPERTIES OF CLINICALLY ISOLATED STAPHYLOCOCCUS-EPIDERMIDIS STRAINS DETERMINE ADHESION ON POLYETHYLENE

The role of surface physiochemical properties of Staphylococcus epider midis strains in adhesion to polyethylene (PE) was investigated under physiological flow conditions in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and 1 % platelet poor plasma (PPP). Four clinically isolated strains were di vided into two groups: low and high relative hydrophobicity, and the F 1198 and RP62A strains showing significantly greater hydrophobicity th an the F21 and F1018 strains. In PBS, adhesion of all S. epidermidis s trains was shear dependent from 0 to 15 dyn/cm, after which adhesion b ecomes shear independent. Strains with higher surface hydrophobicity s howed higher adhesion to PE, demonstrating the influence of bacterial surface hydrophobicity in nonspecific adhesion. Bacterial adhesion cor related well with bacterial surface hydrophobicity at low shear stress es (0-8 dyn/cm(2)). In 1% PPP, adhesion of all strains dramatically de creased and we found no correlation between bacterial surface hydropho bicity and adhesion. The presence of plasma proteins reduced nonspecif ic adhesion. S. epidermidis surface charge did not correlate with bact erial adhesion in either test media. The results suggested that S. epi dermidis surface hydrophobicity may mediate nonspecific adhesion to PE at low shear stresses in protein-free media. (C) 1998 John Wiley & So ns, Inc.