Imaging Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Extracellular Polymer Scaffolds with Amphiphilic Carbon Dots

ACS Chem Biol. 2016 May 20;11(5):1265-70. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.5b01000. Epub 2016 Feb 26.

Abstract

Biofilm formation is a critical facet of pathogenesis and resilience of human, animal, and plant bacteria. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) constitute the physical scaffolding for bacterial biofilms and thus play central roles in their development and virulence. We show that newly synthesized amphiphilic fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots) readily bind to the EPS scaffold of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major biofilm-forming pathogen, resulting in unprecedented microscopic visualization of the EPS structural features. Fluorescence microscopy analysis utilizing the C-dots reveals that the P. aeruginosa EPS matrix exhibits a remarkable dendritic morphology. The experiments further illuminate the growth kinetics of the EPS and the effect of external factors such as temperature. We also show that the amphiphilic C-dot platform enabled screening of substances disrupting biofilm development, specifically quorum sensing inhibitors.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Biofilms / drug effects
  • Biofilms / growth & development*
  • Carbon / chemistry*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence / methods
  • Optical Imaging / methods*
  • Pseudomonas Infections / drug therapy
  • Pseudomonas Infections / microbiology*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / growth & development
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / physiology*
  • Quorum Sensing / drug effects
  • Surface-Active Agents / chemistry*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • Carbon