Decaffeinated green tea extract as a nature-derived antibiotic alternative: An application in antibacterial nano-thin coating on medical implants

Abstract

Plant-derived polyphenols have emerged as molecular building blocks for biomedical architectures. However, the isolation of polyphenols from other components requires labor-intensive procedures, which increases costs and often raises environmental concerns. Here, we suggest that decaffeination can be a convenient and cost-effective method for enhancing the antibacterial performance of polyphenol-rich tea extracts. As a demonstration, we compared the properties of a nano-thin coating made of decaffeinated (dGT coating) and raw green tea extract (GT coating). The dGT coating exhibited enhanced antibacterial performance with regard to bacterial killing and prevention of bacterial attachment compared with the GT coating. Moreover, the chemical reactivity of the dGT coating was further utilized for secondary modifications, which enhanced the overall antibacterial performance of the modified surface. Given its intrinsic low toxicity, we envision that the developed antibacterial coating is ready for the next steps toward application in real clinical settings. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd