In vivo bactericidal efficacy of farnesol on Ti6Al4V implants.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the in vivo anti-staphylococcal bactericidal activity of farnesol on Ti6Al4V surfaces. MATERIAL AND METHODS:An experimental model of infection in biomaterials was developed by inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 into the canal of both femurs of 15 Wistar rats. A Ti6Al4V pin impregnated with 30mM of farnesol was inserted into study femur, and a Ti6Al4V control was inserted into the control femur. To evaluate the bactericidal efficacy, a comparison was made between the median of the colony forming units recovered after inoculation in the study group and the control group for different times of euthanasia and inoculum size. RESULTS:The median expressed as Log10 CFU counts obtained with farnesol titanium pin was 4.26, and in control group, it was 4.86, which was statistically significant (P=.001) on applying the Student t test for related samples. The median reduction obtained in farnesol pins relative to the control was 74%. CONCLUSIONS:Treatment with farnesol 30mM on Ti6Al4V pins appears to decrease the rate of colonisation by Staphylococcus aureus.