Bacterial adherence on 5, 10 and 15 nm nanosilver-impregnated guided tissue regeneration membranes: an in vitro study

The aim of this study is to investigate the bacterial adherence on 5, 10 and 15 nm nanosilver-impregnated resorbable guided tissue regeneration (GTR) membranes. GTR membranes were incorporated with 5 (NS-GTR-5), 10 (NS-GTR-10), and 15 nm (NS-GTR-15) nanosilver in the test group. The control group contained GTR membranes incorporated with 25% metronidazole (M-GTR) and plain membranes (GTR-C). Qualitative evaluation of microbial adherence to the GTR membranes was performed using four organisms-Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Streptococcus mutans-since these organisms are reported to have strong adherent capabilities to collagen membranes. The main results have been obtained: The mean bacterial adherence scores were significantly greater in the GTR-C group when compared to those in the M-GTR and NS-GTR-5, NS-GTR-10, and NS-GTR-15 groups. M-GTR showed higher adherence scores than NS-GTR-5, NS-GTR-10, and NS-GTR-15 for all microorganisms; the differences were statistically significant. We have concluded that collagen membranes impregnated with 5- and 15 nm nanosilver exhibited an apparent antibacterial effect against anaerobic oral pathogenic bacteria and aerobic bacteria. This outcome indicates that nanosilver-impregnated GTR membranes may be useful in periodontal regeneration therapy.