Preventing Surgical Site Infections at the Source: Creating Antimicrobial Sutures Using Bacteriocins

Presenter

Laura Kathleen Snow

Group Members

Catherine G. Chu, Tyler Anthony Dudley, Keira M. Cook, Tamara Turk

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Margaret Riley, Department of Biology, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A59, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 3 (A41-A60) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are post-operative bacterial infections that occur at incision sites in 20% of surgeries, originating from surrounding skin or the operating environment including sutures. The vast majority of these pathogens are highly resistant to multiple antibiotics as hospital-acquired superbugs. The only FDA-approved antibiotic sutures are coated with triclosan, a pesticide and environmental hazard with a success rate of only around 30% due to rapid degradation and incomplete efficacy. Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides that offer safer alternatives; nisin, an FDA-approved bacteriocin, is non-toxic, natural, and demonstrates no evidence of environmental resistance. It is easy and cheap to manufacture and able to kill both gram positive and negative bacteria. This study aims to test the effectiveness of nisin-coated sutures as a viable alternative to conventional antimicrobial sutures in preventing SSIs. Sutures are coated with varying concentrations of each drug and plated on LBA cultures of 100 strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in the largest known sample size of similar studies. The drugs’ killing properties are measured in zones of inhibition and zones of reduced growth are scored over 14 days. While nisin sutures demonstrate trends of smaller zones than triclosan sutures after 24 hours, they maintain their zones for the entire scoring period, while triclosan sutures are colonized by resistant bacteria in as little as 48 hours. Further research promises to show nisin-coated sutures as a safer, effective, and longer-lasting weapon in the battle against SSIs and antibiotic resistance.

Keywords

Bacteria, Antibiotic Resistance, Bacteriocins, Surgical Site Infections, Sutures

Research Area

Medical Sciences

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