The effect of alginate oligosaccharides on the mechanical properties of Gram-negative biofilms

Biofouling. 2013;29(4):413-21. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2013.777954.

Abstract

The influence of a novel, safe antibiofilm therapy on the mechanical properties of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii biofilms in vitro was characterized. A multiscale approach employing atomic force microscopy (AFM) and rheometry was used to quantify the mechanical disruption of the biofilms by a therapeutic polymer based on a low-molecular weight alginate oligosaccharide (OligoG). AFM demonstrated structural alterations in the biofilms exposed to OligoG, with significantly lower Young's moduli than the untreated biofilms, (149 MPa vs 242 MPa; p < 0.05), a decreased resistance to hydrodynamic shear and an increased surface irregularity (Ra) in the untreated controls (35.2 nm ± 7.6 vs 12.1 nm ± 5.4; p < 0.05). Rheology demonstrated that increasing clinically relevant concentrations of OligoG (<10%) were associated with an increasing phase angle (δ) over a wide range of frequencies (0.1-10 Hz). These results highlight the utility of these techniques for the study of three-dimensional biofilms and for quantifying novel disruption therapies in vitro.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter baumannii / drug effects*
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / physiology
  • Alginates / chemistry
  • Alginates / isolation & purification
  • Alginates / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Adhesion / drug effects
  • Biofilms / drug effects*
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Elastic Modulus
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Laminaria / chemistry
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Oligosaccharides / chemistry
  • Oligosaccharides / pharmacology*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / physiology
  • Rheology / methods
  • Shear Strength / drug effects
  • Stress, Mechanical

Substances

  • Alginates
  • Oligosaccharides