Fast exopolysaccharide secretion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on polar polymer surfaces.
The influence of the surface chemical structure and related physicochemical properties on the adhesion of P. aeruginosa has been studied for moderately hydrophobic polymers and for hydrophilic surfaces obtained by O2-plasma treatments and 50 keV Ar+ beam irradiation of poly(hydroxymethylsiloxane) and poly(ethyleneterephthalate). The surface chemical structure has been obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the roughness was measured by atomic force microscopy, and the surface free energy was evaluated from contact angle measurements for all the polymer substrates before and after the irradiation treatments. It is shown that a massive and unusually fast secretion of exopolysaccharides onto highly polar surfaces, corresponding to the formation of complex three-dimensional multilayers (i.e., biofilm-like structures), occurs already after 2 h of incubation. It is suggested that such highly polar surfaces can operate either by promoting, by means of a still unknown biomolecular mechanism, an early gene expression process or by mimicking the P. aeruginosa cellular walls.
Carnazza
Santina
S
Dipartimento di Scienze Microbiologiche, Genetiche e Molecolari, Università di Messina, Salita Sperone, 31, Vill. S. Agata, Messina 98166, Italy.
Satriano
Cristina
C
Guglielmino
Salvatore
S
Marletta
Giovanni
G
D001128:Argon; D007554:Isotopes; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D012833:Siloxanes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D013499:Surface Properties
D007554:Isotopes; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D011108:Polymers; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D012833:Siloxanes; C515054:poly(hydroxymethylsiloxane); D001128:Argon; D010100:Oxygen