Abstract
Electroactive materials are becoming an increasingly important component of many electronic devices designed to interface with biological systems. While much of this work has been driven towards developing electrical stimulation protocols and novel electroactive materials to enhance interfacing with mammalian cells and tissues for therapeutic biomedical applications, electrically driven processes have been shown to be highly tailorable and effective at preventing microbial fouling of the electrode surface. In this chapter we review the range of electrical stimulation paradigms that have been investigated to deactivate and/or repel microbial organisms from electrode surfaces. The mechanisms through which electrical stimulation acts to kill bacterial cells will be discussed, and the application of new polymeric electroactive materials that offer great scope to modulate materials chemistry and fabrication processes to further enhance antimicrobial activity will be reviewed. Finally we look forward towards the innovations that will bring forth the next generation of electroactive antimicrobial materials that promise to provide solutions for a range of diverse applications.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Ansari R, Keivani M (2006) Polyaniline conducting electroactive polymers thermal and environmental stability studies. J Chem 3(4):202–217
Balint R, Cassidy NJ, Cartmell SH (2012) Electrical stimulation: a novel tool for tissue engineering. Tissue Eng Part B Rev 19(1):48–57
Barbosa-Cánovas GV, Fernandez-Molina JJ, Swanson BG (2001) Pulsed electric fields: a novel technology for food preservation. Agron Food Ind Hi-Tech 12(2):9–14
Bergman B, Hanks TW (2000) Spectroscopic, microscopic, and surface analysis of alkanethiol- and fluoroalkanethiol-modified conducting polymer thin films. Macromolecules 33(21):8035–8042. doi:10.1021/ma000659p
Beveridge JR, MacGregor SJ, Anderson JG, Fouracre RA (2005) The influence of pulse duration on the inactivation of bacteria using monopolar and bipolar profile pulsed electric fields. IEEE Trans Plasma Sci 33(4):1287–1293. doi:10.1109/TPS.2005.852345
Biallozor S, Kupniewska A (2005) Conducting polymers electrodeposited on active metals. Synth Met 155(3):443–449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2005.09.002
Clark GM, Hallworth RJ (1976) A multiple-electrode array for a cochlear implant. J Laryngol Otol 90(07):623–627. doi:10.1017/S0022215100082529
Cole MA, Voelcker NH, Thissen H, Griesser HJ (2009) Stimuli-responsive interfaces and systems for the control of protein–surface and cell–surface interactions. Biomaterials 30(9):1827–1850. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2008.12.026
Crocker IC, Liu WK, Byrne PO, Elliott TSJ (1992) A novel electrical method for the prevention of microbial colonization of intravascular cannulae. J Hosp Infect 22(1):7–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0195-6701(92)90126-7
Daeneke T, Kwon T-H, Holmes AB, Duffy NW, Bach U, Spiccia L (2011) High-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells with ferrocene-based electrolytes. Nat Chem 3(3):211–215. http://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/v3/n3/abs/nchem.966.html#supplementary-information
Dargahi M, Hosseinidoust Z, Tufenkji N, Omanovic S (2014) Investigating electrochemical removal of bacterial biofilms from stainless steel substrates. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 117(0):152–157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2014.02.021
Davis CP, Wagle N, Anderson MD, Warren MM (1991) Bacterial and fungal killing by iontophoresis with long-lived electrodes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 35(10):2131–2134. doi:10.1128/aac.35.10.2131
Doyle RL, Godwin IJ, Brandon MP, Lyons MEG (2013) Redox and electrochemical water splitting catalytic properties of hydrated metal oxide modified electrodes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 15(33):13737–13783. doi:10.1039/C3CP51213D
Esrafilzadeh D, Razal JM, Moulton SE, Stewart EM, Wallace GG (2013) Multifunctional conducting fibres with electrically controlled release of ciprofloxacin. J Control Release 169(3):313–320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2013.01.022
Gabi M, Hefermehl L, Lukic D, Zahn R, Vörös J, Eberli D (2011) Electrical microcurrent to prevent conditioning film and bacterial adhesion to urological stents. Urol Res 39(2):81–88. doi:10.1007/s00240-010-0284-3
Galvani L, Aldini G (1792) De Viribus Electricitatis In Motu Musculari Comentarius Cum Joannis Aldini Dissertatione Et Notis; Accesserunt Epistolae ad animalis electricitatis theoriam pertinentes. Apud Societatem Typographicam
Gizdavic-Nikolaidis MR, Bennett JR, Swift S, Easteal AJ, Ambrose M (2011) Broad spectrum antimicrobial activity of functionalized polyanilines. Acta Biomater 7(12):4204–4209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2011.07.018
Gizdavic-Nikolaidis MR, Bennett J, Zujovic Z, Swift S, Bowmaker GA (2012) Characterization and antimicrobial efficacy of acetone extracted aniline oligomers. Synth Met 162(13–14):1114–1119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2012.04.031
Grahl T, Märkl H (1996) Killing of microorganisms by pulsed electric fields. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 45(1–2):148–157. doi:10.1007/s002530050663
Halldorsson JA, Little SJ, Diamond D, Spinks G, Wallace G (2009) Controlled transport of droplets using conducting polymers. Langmuir 25(18):11137–11141. doi:10.1021/la900835w
Halldorsson JA, Wu Y, Brown HR, Spinks GM, Wallace GG (2011) Surfactant-controlled shape change of organic droplets using polypyrrole. Thin Solid Films 519(19):6486–6491
Hu W, Peng C, Luo W, Lv M, Li X, Li D, Huang Q, Fan C (2010) Graphene-based antibacterial paper. ACS Nano 4(7):4317–4323. doi:10.1021/nn101097v
Hülsheger H, Potel J, Niemann EG (1981) Killing of bacteria with electric pulses of high field strength. Radiat Environ Biophys 20(1):53–65. doi:10.1007/BF01323926
Hülsheger H, Potel J, Niemann EG (1983) Electric field effects on bacteria and yeast cells. Radiat Environ Biophys 22(2):149–162. doi:10.1007/BF01338893
Jiang S, Cao Z (2010) Ultralow-fouling, functionalizable, and hydrolyzable zwitterionic materials and their derivatives for biological applications. Adv Mater 22(9):920–932. doi:10.1002/adma.200901407
Jotiram KP, Prasad RGSV, Jakka VS, Aparna RSL, Phani AR (2012) Antibacterial activity of nanostructured polyaniline combined with mupirocin. Nano Biomed Eng 4(3): 144–149
Jucker BA, Harms H, Zehnder AJ (1996) Adhesion of the positively charged bacterium Stenotrophomonas (Xanthomonas) maltophilia 70401 to glass and Teflon. J Bacteriol 178(18):5472–5479
Kang S, Pinault M, Pfefferle LD, Elimelech M (2007) Single-walled carbon nanotubes exhibit strong antimicrobial activity. Langmuir 23(17):8670–8673. doi:10.1021/la701067r
Kerr A, Hodgkiess T, Cowling MJ, Beveridge CM, Smith MJ, Parr ACS (1998) A novel technique to prevent bacterial fouling, using imposed surface potential. J Appl Microbiol 85(6):1067–1072. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.1998.tb05272.x
Kulkarni VG, Campbell LD, Mathew WR (1989) Thermal stability of polyaniline. Synth Met 30(3):321–325. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0379-6779(89)90654-1
Liu W-K, Tebbs SE, Byrne PO, Elliott TSJ (1993) The effects of electric current on bacteria colonising intravenous catheters. J Infect 27(3):261–269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0163-4453(93)92068-8
Liu Y, Mu L, Liu B, Kong J (2005) Controlled switchable surface. Chem A Eur J 11(9):2622–2631. doi:10.1002/chem.200400931
Matsunaga T, Namba Y (1984) Detection of microbial cells by cyclic voltammetry. Anal Chem 56(4):798–801. doi:10.1021/ac00268a047
Matsunaga T, Namba Y, Nakajima T (1984) 751—electrochemical sterilization of microbial cells. Bioelectrochem Bioenerg 13(4–6):393–400. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0302-4598(84)87040-3
Matsunaga T, Nakayama T, Wake H, Takahashi M, Okochi M, Nakamura N (1998) Prevention of marine biofouling using a conductive paint electrode. Biotechnol Bioeng 59(3):374–378. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0290(19980805)59:3<374::AID-BIT14>3.0.CO;2-E
Mendes PM (2008) Stimuli-responsive surfaces for bio-applications. Chem Soc Rev 37(11):2512–2529. doi:10.1039/B714635N
Merrill DR, Bikson M, Jefferys JGR (2005) Electrical stimulation of excitable tissue: design of efficacious and safe protocols. J Neurosci Methods 141(2):171–198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2004.10.020
Molino PJ, Wallace GG, Hanks TW (2012) Hydrophobic conducting polymer films from post deposition thiol exposure. Synth Met 162(15–16):1464–1470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2012.06.013
Molino PJ, Zhang B, Wallace GG, Hanks TW (2013) Surface modification of polypyrrole/biopolymer composites for controlled protein and cellular adhesion. Biofouling 29(10):1155–1167. doi:10.1080/08927014.2013.830110
Mostafaei A, Nasirpouri F (2013) Preparation and characterization of a novel conducting nanocomposite blended with epoxy coating for antifouling and antibacterial applications. J Coat Technol Res 10(5):679–694. doi:10.1007/s11998-013-9487-1
Nakayama T, Wake H, Ozawa K, Kodama H, Nakamura N, Matsunaga T (1998a) Use of a titanium nitride for electrochemical inactivation of marine bacteria. Environ Sci Technol 32(6):798–801. doi:10.1021/es970578h
Nakayama T, Wake H, Ozawa K, Nakamura N, Matsunaga T (1998b) Electrochemical prevention of marine biofouling on a novel titanium-nitride-coated plate formed by radio-frequency arc spraying. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 50(4):502–508. doi:10.1007/s002530051327
Norlin A, Pan J, Leygraf C (2005) Investigation of electrochemical behavior of stimulation/sensing materials for pacemaker electrode applications: I. Pt, Ti, and TiN coated electrodes. J Electrochem Soc 152(2):J7–J15. doi:10.1149/1.1842092
Okochi M, Matsunaga T (1997) Electrochemical sterilization of bacteria using a graphite electrode modified with adsorbed ferrocene. Electrochim Acta 42(20–22):3247–3250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0013-4686(97)00174-6
Okochi M, Nakamura N, Matsunaga T (1998) Electrochemical control of bacterial cell accumulation on submerged glass surfaces. Clean Prod Process 1(1):53–59. doi:10.1007/s100980050008
Okochi M, Nakamura N, Matsunaga T (2000) Electrochemical killing of vibrio alginolyticus using ferrocene-modified electrode. Electrochim Acta 45(18):2917–2921. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0013-4686(00)00368-6
Pervez N, Rasheed A, Pervez A, Rashid A, Mahmood Q (2013) Microbial inactivation utilizing impulse waveform. Desalination Water Treat 52(13–15):2662–2667. doi:10.1080/19443994.2013.794708
Piccolino M (1998) Animal electricity and the birth of electrophysiology: the legacy of Luigi Galvani. Brain Res Bull 46(5):381–407. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0361-9230(98)00026-4
Poortinga AT, Bos R, Busscher HJ (2001) Reversibility of bacterial adhesion at an electrode surface. Langmuir 17(9):2851–2856. doi:10.1021/la001673y
Pranzetti A, Mieszkin S, Iqbal P, Rawson FJ, Callow ME, Callow JA, Koelsch P, Preece JA, Mendes PM (2013) An electrically reversible switchable surface to control and study early bacterial adhesion dynamics in real-time. Adv Mater 25(15):2181–2185. doi:10.1002/adma.201204880
Prasad RGSV, Chaitanya KSV, Tejoram M, Basavaraju D, Rao KN, Kumar RR, Sreenivasan S, Phani AR (2012) Antibacterial properties of nanofiber structured conducting polyaniline synthesized by cost effective wet chemical process. J Pharmacol Res 5(1):370–373
Puértolas E, López N, Condón S, Raso J, Álvarez I (2009) Pulsed electric fields inactivation of wine spoilage yeast and bacteria. Int J Food Microbiol 130(1):49–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2008.12.035
Puértolas E, López N, Condón S, Álvarez I, Raso J (2010) Potential applications of PEF to improve red wine quality. Trends Food Sci Technol 21(5):247–255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2010.02.002
Ronkainen NJ, Halsall HB, Heineman WR (2010) Electrochemical biosensors. Chem Soc Rev 39(5):1747–1763. doi:10.1039/B714449K
Rose TL, Robblee LS (1990) Electrical stimulation with Pt electrodes. VIII. Electrochemically safe charge injection limits with 0.2 ms pulses (neuronal application). IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 37(11):1118–1120. doi:10.1109/10.61038
Saldaña G, Puértolas E, Monfort S, Raso J, Álvarez I (2011) Defining treatment conditions for pulsed electric field pasteurization of apple juice. Int J Food Microbiol 151(1):29–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.07.033
Sale AJH, Hamilton WA (1967) Effects of high electric fields on microorganisms: I. Killing of bacteria and yeasts. Biochim Biophys Acta (BBA) Gen Subj 148(3):781–788. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0304-4165(67)90052-9
Satirapipathkul C, Iwakabe K, Habaki H, Kawasaki J (2008) Inactivation of harmful dinoflagellate (Alexandrium catenella) in ballast water by electric treatment. Ann Microbiol 58(2):297–301. doi:10.1007/BF03175333
Shim S, Hong SH, Tak Y, Yoon J (2011) Prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa adhesion by electric currents. Biofouling 27(2):217–224. doi:10.1080/08927014.2011.554831
Spadaro JA, Berger TJ, Barranco SD, Chapin SE, Becker RO (1974) Antibacterial effects of silver electrodes with weak direct current. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 6(5):637–642. doi:10.1128/aac.6.5.637
Spelman DW (2002) 2: hospital-acquired infections. Med J Aust 176(6):286–295
Teh KS, Takahashi Y, Yao Z, Lu Y-W (2009) Influence of redox-induced restructuring of polypyrrole on its surface morphology and wettability. Sensors Actuators A: Phys 155(1):113–119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2009.07.006
van der Borden AJ, van der Werf H, van der Mei HC, Busscher HJ (2004) Electric current-induced detachment of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms from surgical stainless steel. Appl Environ Microbiol 70(11):6871–6874. doi:10.1128/aem.70.11.6871-6874.2004
Wallace GG, Teasdale PR, Spinks GM, Kane-Maguire LAP (2002) Conductive electroactive polymers: intelligent materials systems. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Wang XH, Li J, Zhang JY, Sun ZC, Yu L, Jing XB, Wang FS, Sun ZX, Ye ZJ (1999) Polyaniline as marine antifouling and corrosion-prevention agent. Synth Met 102(1–3):1377–1380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0379-6779(98)00384-1
Yang X, Lu Y, Ma Y, Liu Z, Du F, Chen Y (2007) DNA electrochemical sensor based on an adduct of single-walled carbon nanotubes and ferrocene. Biotechnol Lett 29(11):1775–1779
Yang SC, Brown R, Ramotowski T, Tucker W, Maranda L, Chena R, Shen M (2009) New anti fouling coatings based on conductive polymers. No. URITC Project No. 0001032
Zhou JF, Xu LP, Feng DL, Hu AB, Xie TF (2013) Study on inactivation of microalgae in ship ballast water by pulsed electric field and heat treatment. Adv Mater Res 610:3163–3166
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Molino, P.J., Zhang, B., Higgins, M.J. (2015). Electroactive Anti-microbial Surfaces. In: Ivanova, E., Crawford, R. (eds) Antibacterial Surfaces. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18594-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18594-1_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18593-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18594-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)