Three‐dimensional micro‐patterning to deter bacterial adherence and eliminate colonisation

In this work, it is demonstrated that three dimensional (3D) engineered surfaces can be used as efficient anti-bacterial surfaces in the initial phases of surface colonisation for three different clinically relevant bacteria identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as urgent threats. We present the technology required to fabricate such surfaces based on a modified UV-lithography process enabling cost-efficient high-throughput manufacturing. A variety of designs has been tested to better understand the initial stages of bacteria surface colonization and how to deter it by carefully designing micro-surfaces. The results confirm that both initial attachment and subsequent colonization of the three bacteria can be significantly reduced on the 3D engineered patterns when compared to flat substrates and standard 2D micro-patterns. Overall, the potential of this technology to reduce the colonization of bacteria over surfaces on clinical settings without the need of chemical that might lead to antimicrobial resistance increase has been demonstrated.