Introduction: Enzymatic debridement has emerged as an alternative method to combat biofilms. Bromelain is an enzyme derived from pineapple stems that has been used in several studies as a method of biofilm dissolution (BD). As a result, researchers hypothesized that bromelain could be used to debride contaminated orthopedic implants. Methods: In this study, cortical bone screws were incubated in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus inoculated broth. Treatment groups were exposed to low-dose bromelain solution, high-dose bromelain solution, or bromelain powder with or without manual scrubbing of the implant. The screws were then stained with crystal violet dye and analyzed using optical density (OD). OD means were compared between each treatment group and their respective control group using analysis of variance. Results: Six screws were used for each group. The average OD of the low-dose bromelain solution group (0.104 ± 0.047) was no different compared with the control group (p = 0.345). The average ODs of the low-dose + scrub bromelain solution (0.068 ± 0.020) and high-dose + scrub solution (0.045 ± 0.014) were significantly different from their respective control group (p = 0.012; p = 0.001). The average ODs of screws in the high-dose (0.056 ± 0.012), powder (0.041 ± 0.010), and powder + scrub (0.032 ± 0.005) groups were also significantly different from their respective control group (p = 0.003; p = 0.001; p < 0.0001). Discussion: On the basis of these outcomes, bromelain is a promising alternative for the debridement of biofilm-contaminated orthopedic implants. Further investigation is required to assess how different concentrations and exposure times may affect the percentage of BD.

Keywords: biofilms; bromelain; debridement; implants; infection; orthopedics.

引言: 酶促脱屑已成为对抗生物膜的一种替代方法。菠萝蛋白酶是从菠萝茎中提取的一种酶，在一些研究中被用作生物膜溶解（BD）的方法。因此，研究人员假设菠萝蛋白酶可用于清除受污染的骨科植入物。方法: 在这项研究中，皮质骨螺钉在耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌接种液中培养。处理组被暴露于低剂量菠萝蛋白酶溶液、高剂量菠萝蛋白酶溶液或带或不带手动清洗植入物的菠萝蛋白酶粉末。然后用结晶紫染料对螺钉进行染色，并使用光密度（OD）分析。通过方差分析比较每种治疗组与相应对照组之间的平均光密度值。结果: 每个实验组使用了六颗螺钉。低剂量菠萝蛋白酶溶液组的平均 OD 值 (0.104 ± 0.047) 与对照组无显著差异（p = 0.345）。低剂量 + 清洗（0.068 ± 0.020）和高剂量 + 清洗溶液组（0.045 ± 0.014）的平均 OD 值与各自对照组显著不同 (p = 0.012; p = 0.001)。高剂量组 (0.056 ± 0.012)，粉末组（0.041 ± 0.010），以及粉末 + 清洗组（0.032 ± 0.005）的平均 OD 值也显著不同于各自的对照组（p = 0.003; p = 0.001; p 讨论: 根据这些结果，菠萝蛋白酶是脱除生物膜污染骨科植入物的一种有前景的替代方案。需要进一步的研究来评估不同浓度和暴露时间如何影响 BD 的百分比。

关键词: 生物膜；菠萝蛋白酶；脱屑；植入物；感染；骨科。