Comparative radiolabel and ATP analyses of adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis to hydrogel lenses.
OBJECTIVE
A comparative assessment of the relative primary adhesion of cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, its lux transformant, and of slime and non-slime producing strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis to various hydrogel lenses was conducted.


METHODS
Hydrogel lenses were placed in cell suspensions with bacteria with or without a tritiated leucine label. After 2 hours exposure, the lenses were rinsed vigorously and densities of cells on the lenses were determined via scintillation counting or ATP analyses.


RESULTS
The radiolabel procedure indicated greater numbers than the ATP analyses of adhered cells per lens per common inoculum of all strains. All strains exhibited greater primary adhesion to the 38% water content contact lens, with the lux transformant of P. aeruginosa showing the greatest degree of adhesion. Primary adhesion by P. aeruginosa was typically at least ten-fold greater per lens than that observed with S. epidermidis.


CONCLUSIONS
Both a radiolabel-cell procedure and bioluminescent ATP analyses demonstrated similar patterns of primary adhesion of bacteria to hydrogel lenses. Generally the adhesion increased inversely to the water content of the lenses but the chemical composition of the lenses, particularly surface properties, altered this pattern for lenses of similar water content. The magnitude of primary adhesion varied with the species and strain of bacterium.
Ahanotu
E N
EN
Georgia State University,  College of Arts and Sciences, Atlanta 30302-4010, USA.
Hyatt
M D
MD
Graham
M J
MJ
Ahearn
D G
DG
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000032:analysis*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003263:Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic / Q000382:microbiology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate