Electrolyzed Saline Targets Biofilm Periodontal Pathogens In Vitro.

Preventing the development and recurrence of periodontal diseases often includes antimicrobial mouthrinses to control the growth of the periodontal pathogens. Most antimicrobials are nonselective, targeting the symbiotic oral species as well as the dysbiosis-inducing ones. This affects the overall microbial composition and metabolic activity and consequently the host-microbe interactions, which can be detrimental (associated with inflammation) or beneficial (health-associated). Consequently, guiding the antimicrobial effect for modulating the microbial composition to a health-associated one should be considered. For such an approach, this study investigated electrolyzed saline as a novel rinse. Electrolyzed saline was prepared from sterile saline using a portable electrolysis device. Multispecies oral homeostatic and dysbiotic biofilms were grown on hydroxyapatite discs and rinsed daily with electrolyzed saline (EOS). Corresponding positive (NaOCl) and negative (phosphate-buffered saline) controls were included. After 3 rinses, biofilms were analyzed with viability quantitative polymerase chain reaction and scanning electron microscopy. Supernatants of rinsed biofilms were used for metabolic activity analysis (high-performance liquid chromatography) through measuring organic acid content. In addition, human oral keratinocytes (HOKs) were exposed to EOS to test biocompatibility (cytotoxicity and inflammation induction) and also to rinsed biofilms to assess their immunogenicity after rinsing. Rinsing the dysbiotic biofilms with EOS could reduce the counts of the pathobionts (>3 log10 Geq/mm2 reduction) and avert biofilm dysbiosis (≤1% pathobiont abundance), leading to the dominance of commensal species (≥99%), which altered both biofilm metabolism and interleukin 8 (IL-8) induction in HOKs. EOS had no harmful effects on homeostatic biofilms. The scanning electron micrographs confirmed the same. In addition, tested concentrations of EOS did not have any cytotoxic effects and did not induce IL-8 production in HOKs. EOS showed promising results for diverting dysbiosis in in vitro rinsed biofilms and controlling key periopathogens, with no toxic effects on commensal species or human cells. This novel rinsing should be considered for clinical applications.

Removal of dibutyl phthalate from aqueous environments using a nanophotocatalytic Fe, Ag-ZnO/VIS-LED system: modeling and optimization.

An (Fe, Ag) co-doped ZnO nanostructure was synthesized by a simple chemical co-precipitation method and used for the degradation of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in aqueous solution under visible light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation. (Fe, Ag) co-doped ZnO nanorods were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-VIS diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, elemental mapping, Field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis. A Central Composite Design was used to optimize the reaction parameters for the removal of DBP by the (Fe, Ag) co-doped ZnO nanorods. The four main reaction parameters optimized in this study were the following: pH, time of radiation, concentration of the nanorods and initial DBP concentration. The interaction between the four parameters was studied and modeled using the Design Expert 10 software. A maximum reduction of 95% of DBP was achieved at a pH of 3, a photocatalyst concentration of 150 mg L-1 and a DBP initial DBP concentration of 15 mg L-1. The results showed that the (Fe, Ag) co-doped ZnO nanorods under low power LED irradiation can be used as an effective photocatalyst for the removal of DBP from aqueous solutions.

In-frame fusion of a His-Cys motif into the Pseudomonas aeruginosa outer membrane OprI lipoprotein results in increased metal binding capacity by Escherichia coli.

OprI, a small outer membrane lipoprotein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, can be produced in large amounts and anchored at the surface on Escherichia coli cells. A four-time repeated (His-Cys) motif was fused to the C-terminal part of OprI. After induction, E. coli cells harbouring the recombinant oprI gene became more sensitive to Cd and Co. The same cells, after IPTG induction, bound four to eight times more Cd and Cr than control cells expressing oprI alone.

Effects of some saturated n-alkanes on the survival of Escherichia coli resting cells in sea water.

The influence of some linear alkanes on the survival of Escherichia coli natural sea water was investigated. Alkanes with fifteen or more carbon atoms induced a large decrease in viability of E. coli cells in natural sea water. In this case and for concentrations higher than 100 ppm, the loss of viability followed an exponential relationship with the carbon chain length. In the presence of 500 mg l-1 heptane, the survival was 1.6 times higher than that of controls. The progressive disappearance of heptane from the survival medium with a low and temporary accumulation by cells, suggests that this alkane may have been responsible for the increase of cell viability.

A colorimetric assay for measuring cell-free and cell-bound cholesterol oxidase.

Cholesterol oxidase (cholesterol:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.3.6) catalyzes the conversion of sterol delta 5-3 beta-alcohol to the corresponding delta 4-3-ketone with the reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. Rhodococcus species GK 1, a soil isolated microbe, produces an extracellular and a membrane-bound cholesterol oxidase; the latter is bound to the outer surface of the microbial cell membrane. A simple and sensitive assay is described to measure the two enzyme types; no enzyme extraction is needed for measuring the membrane-bound cholesterol oxidase. In this assay, hydrogen peroxide is reduced by the chromogen 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) in the presence of horseradish peroxidase, and the increased absorbance is followed continuously at 600 nm (epsilon m = 1.82 x 10(4) M-1.cm-1 at pH 7.0 and 30 degrees C). The standardized assay medium contained 46.9 mM sodium-potassium phosphate buffer pH 7.0, 0.16% Triton X-100, 312.5 microM ABTS, 50 micrograms peroxidase (12.5 units at 25 degrees C), 6.25% isopropanol, 306.3 microM cholesterol or other sterols (kept in solution with isopropanol), and cholesterol oxidase. Oxidation of one molecule of cholesterol by cholesterol oxidase gives one molecule of hydrogen peroxide which reacts with two molecules of ABTS. The method is reproducible and the results correlate well with those obtained by measuring the absorbance of delta 4-cholest-3-one at 240 nm (epsilon m = 1.40 x 10(4) M-1.cm-1 at pH 7.0 and 30 degrees C) and by the method of Allain et al. (Clin. Chem. 20, 470-475, 1974).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Polymerization/excision kinetics of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. Stability in kinetic behaviour and variations of the rate constants with temperature and pH.

1. The incorporation and excision kinetics of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I in the replication of (dA)n with dUTP and (dI)n with dCTP was studied at various temperatures and pH. When the incorporation/excision ratio (dy/dx) is plotted against the concentration of deoxynucleoside triphosphate [S] two kinds of curves are obtained. With (dI)n, dy/dx increases with [S], then reaches an asymptotic value. This behaviour, consistent with a kinetic amplification or kinetic proofreading mechanism, is observed at all temperatures and pH. With (dA)n, dy/dx increases with [S] but in a convex, instead of a concave manner. In this case, we approximated the curves by straight lines at the origin, in conformity with the prediction of the frayed-unfrayed model. Again a single behaviour is consistently observed at all temperatures and pH. 2. The data were analyzed in terms of ratios or products of three kinetic constants: ki for incorporation, ke for excision and, in the (dI)n system, theta for the processing of the incoming dNTP. The dNMP production in the (dI)n system is dominated by the ke theta term which increases with temperature and pH. Temperature influences excision more than incorporation, the net result being a linear decrease of ki/ke with temperature. The effect is more pronounced with (dI)n than with (dA)n and is probably related to the stability of the template-primer complex. The ki/ke term shows a bell-shaped dependency with pH in the (dI)n system. With (dA)n it remains constant between pH 7.5 and 8.5 then decreases with a transition midpoint at pH 9.0. We suggest that the pH profiles may reflect the ionization of the template in the first case, and of the substrate in the second.