Elaboration of highly hydrophobic polymeric surface--a potential strategy to reduce the adhesion of pathogenic bacteria?

Different polymeric surfaces have been modified in order to reach a high hydrophobic character, indeed the superhydrophobicity property. For this purpose, polypropylene and polystyrene have been treated by RF or µwaves CF4 plasma with different volumes, the results were compared according to the density of injected power. The effect of pretreatment such as mechanical abrasion or plasma activation was also studied. The modified surfaces were shown as hydrophobic, or even superhydrophobic depending of defects density. They were characterized by measurement of wettability and roughness at different scales, i.e. macroscopic, mesoscopic and atomic. It has been shown that a homogeneous surface at the macroscopic scale could be heterogeneous at lower mesoscopic scale. This was associated with the crystallinity of the material. The bioadhesion tests were performed with Gram positive and negative pathogenic strains: Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Hafnia alvei. They have demonstrated an antibacterial efficiency of very hydrophobic and amorphous PS treated for all strains tested and a strain-dependent efficiency with modified PP surface being very heterogeneous at the mesoscopic scale. Thus, these biological results pointed out not only the respective role of the surface chemistry and topography in bacterial adhesion, but also the dependence on the peaks and valley distribution at bacteria dimension scale.

Biofilm formation and acyl homoserine lactone production in Hafnia alvei isolated from raw milk.

The objective of this study was to detect the presence of acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), signal molecules of the quorum sensing system in biofilm formed by Hafnia alvei strains. It also evaluated the effect of synthetic quorum sensing inhibitors in biofilm formation. AHLs were assayed using well diffusion techniques, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and detection directly in biofilm with biomonitors. The extracts obtained from planktonic and sessile cell of H. alvei induced at least two of three monitor strains evaluated. The presence of AHLs with up to six carbon atoms was confirmed by TLC. Biofilm formation by H. alvei was inhibited by furanone, as demonstrated by 96-well assay of crystal violet in microtitre plates and by scanning electron microscopy. The H. alvei 071 hall mutant was deficient in biofilm formation. All these results showed that the quorum sensing system is probably involved in the regulation of biofilm formation by H. alvei.

Temperature influences the expression of fimbriae and flagella in Hafnia alvei strains: an immunofluorescence study.

Hafnia alvei, a Gram negative bacillus related to the Enterobacteriaceae family, is considered an opportunistic pathogen of several animal species and humans. In this communication, we describe fimbrial-like structures from different strains of H. alvei that cannot be easily ascribed to any of the previously reported fimbrial types in this species (type I or type III). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunofluorescence assays were carried out to study fimbriae and flagella in H. alvei strains isolated from different sources. No correlation between the results obtained by PCR and those obtained by phenotypic methods were found, and the antibodies used gave cross or different recognition patterns of the surface structures present in these strains. We report as well that strain and growth temperature influence fimbriation and expression of flagella in human and animal isolates of H. alvei. This study also indicates that the absence of fimbriae have a significant positive influence on the initial adhesion of H. alvei to human epithelial cells.

Biofilm formation and acyl homoserine lactone production in Hafnia alvei isolated from raw milk

The objective of this study was to detect the presence of acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), signal molecules of the quorum sensing system in biofilm formed by Hafnia alvei strains. It also evaluated the effect of synthetic quorum sensing inhibitors in biofilm formation. AHLs were assayed using well diffusion techniques, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and detection directly in biofilm with biomonitors. The extracts obtained from planktonic and sessile cell of H. alvei induced at least two of three monitor strains evaluated. The presence of AHLs with up to six carbon atoms was confirmed by TLC. Biofilm formation by H. alvei was inhibited by furanone, as demonstrated by 96-well assay of crystal violet in microtitre plates and by scanning electron microscopy. The H. alvei 071 hall mutant was deficient in biofilm formation. All these results showed that the quorum sensing system is probably involved in the regulation of biofilm formation by H. alvei.