Alteration of stainless-steel surface potential by modifying topography inhibits the development of bacterial biofilm

The bacterial adhesion to iron-based alloys such as stainless-steel-316L (SS-316L) and stainless-steel-304 (SS-304) used in biomedical applications causes biofouling, leading to infections in human health and morbidity. The significant findings from the current study reveal that the modified surface texture of SS-316L and SS-304 has reduced the adhesion of bacterial biofilm produced by gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa , which is a model organism for biofilm and biofouling study. In this study, the different surface topography of stainless-steel (SS) has been developed (a total of eight SS disks, four from SS-316L and another four from SS-304) by using different sizes of silicon carbide emery papers and diamond paste used through polishing machine. Interestingly, higher negative potential determined by Kelvin probe AFM in SS316L helps in less biofilm formation on the smooth surface, substantiating our findings. So, SS-304 favours biofilm development by Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to SS-316L. Graphical abstract