title: Antibacterial effect of protamine assayed by impedimetry.
abstract: Impedimetric measurements were used to assay the antibacterial effect of protamine. A good linear correlation between the impedance detection time and the initial cell counts was obtained (r = 0.99, n = 2). As basic peptides may cause clumping of cells, this correlation curve was used when estimating the cell number after protamine treatment, rather than colony counts. Protamine from salmon killed growing Gram-positive bacteria and significantly inhibited growth of Gram-negative bacteria in Tryptone Soy Broth (TSB) at 25 degrees C. In general Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive to protamine than Gram-negative bacteria; the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) determined for Gram-positive strains varied from 20 to 1000 micrograms ml-1 and for Gram-negative strains from 500 micrograms ml-1 to more than 4000 micrograms ml-1. The effect of protamine on non-growing Listeria monocytogenes Scott A suspended in buffer was not lethal as was the effect on growing cells; however, protamine (50-500 micrograms ml-1) killed the Gram-negative fish spoilage bacteria Shewanella putrefaciens when the live cells were suspended in buffer.
authors.affiliation: Danish Ministry of Fisheries, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gram
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017097:Electric Impedance; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011479:Protamines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012474:Salmon; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005520:Food Preservatives; D011479:Protamines