Inhibition of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on Biofilm Formation of Staphylococcus aureus

Biofilm is a niche which protects microorganisms from detergent treatment and keeps them a persistent infection source. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in vitro on adhesion, formation and eradication of S. aureus biofilm using microtiter plate assay on the surface of biomaterials made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Results showed that (1) In the early stage of biofilm formation, adding 0.1 mM of EDTA would strongly inhibit biofilm formation, but after 72 h the inhibition disappeared; (2) Saturating EDTA with excess of cations had no significant effect on the formation of biofilm, indicating the biofilm inhibition had nothing to do with the chelating properties of EDTA; (3) EDTA was shown to inhibit cell-to-surface interactions and cell-to-cell interactions, which at least partially contributed to the repressed initial adherence. The study suggested that EDTA could inhibit the biofilm formation in the early stage by affecting the initial adherence of Staphylococcus aureus cells.