Sieben, Juan M.Placente, DamiánBaldini, Mónica D.Ruso Beiras, Juan ManuelLaiuppa, Juan A.Santillán, Graciela E.Messina, Paula V.2025-11-282025-11-282023-05-19ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, 15, 21, 25884–258971944-8244https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44095This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, copyright © 2023 American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c05064Following the secular idea of ″restitutio ad integrum″, regeneration is the pursued option to restore bones lost after a disease; accordingly, complementing antibiotic and regeneration capacity to bone grafts represents a great scientific success. This study is a framework proposal for understanding the antimicrobial effect of biocompatible nano-hydroxyapatite/MoOx (nano-HA/MoOx) platforms on the basis of their electroactive behavior. Through cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry measurements, the electron transference capacity of nano-HA and nano-HA/MoOx electrodes was determined in the presence of pathogenic organisms: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Faradaic processes were confirmed and related to the switch of MoO42–/PO43– groups in the original hexagonal nano-HA crystal lattice and to the extent of OH vacancies that act as electron acceptors. Microscopic analysis of bacteria’s ultrastructure showed a disruptive effect on the cytoplasmic membrane upon direct contact with the materials, which is not evident in the presence of eukaryotic cells. Experiments support the existence of a type of extracellular electron transfer (EET) process that alters the function of the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane, accelerating their death. Our findings provide strong quantitative support for a drug-independent biocidal physical approach based on EET processes between microorganisms and phosphate ceramics that can be used to combat local orthopedic infections associated with implants.engHydroxyapatiteMoOxCyclic voltammetryChronoamperometryDiscrete wavelet transformDrug-independent antibiotic systemjournal article10.1021/acsami.3c050641944-8252open access