Cellulose nanocrystals are effective in inhibiting host cell bacterial adhesion.

ABSTRACT

The use of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as a biomaterial able to inhibit host cell bacterial adhesion is described. Pre-incubation of E. coli ATCC 25922 with a suspension of 0.1% CNCs afforded a significant 2 log reduction of bacterial adhesion to the intestinal cell monolayer HT29. This effect could be attributed to the interaction between the CNCs and the bacterial cell surface as confirmed using fluorescence microscopy experiments.