title: Effects of anti-odor automobile air-conditioning system products on adherence of Serratia marcescens to aluminum.
abstract: Sixteen commercial products for use in automobile air-conditioning systems (ACS), most designated for abatement of malodors presumably of microbial origin, were examined for their potential to inhibit attachment and to detach cells of the Gram-negative bacterium Serratia marcescens on aluminum sections. Numbers of attached cells were appreciably reduced (>60%) following immersion in three alcohol-type and two acrylic-coating-type products. Several products had essentially no effect on the attached cells. Most of the products indicated for alleviation of associated microbial odors from ACS provided only short-term effects. When products were coated onto aluminum prior to exposure to the cells, water-insoluble coatings appeared to provide more consistent inhibition of primary adherence of S. marcescens. The differences in degrees of primary adherence of a selected strain of S. marcescens to variously treated aluminum provided a rapid and reproducible assessment of potential antimicrobial efficacy of ACS products.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Environmental Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta 30303, USA.
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Drago
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Crow
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Ahearn
mesh_terms: D000389:Air Conditioning / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000535:Aluminum / Q000378:metabolism*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001336:Automobiles; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003836:Deodorants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009812:Odorants / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012706:Serratia marcescens / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003836:Deodorants; D000535:Aluminum