title: Direct laser writing by two-photon polymerization as a tool for developing microenvironments for evaluation of bacterial growth.
abstract: Monitoring bacteria growth and motion in environments is fundamental to understand, for instance, how they proliferate and contaminate organism. Therefore, techniques to fabricate microenvironments for in situ and in vivo studies are interesting for that purpose. In this work we used two-photon polymerization to fabricate microenvironments and, as a proof of principle, we demonstrated the development of the bacteria ATCC 25922 Escherichia coli (E. coli) into the microstructure surroundings. Two varieties of polymeric microenvironments are presented: (i) a microenvironment doped at specific site with ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic typically used in the treatment of diseases caused by E. coli and (ii) micro-fences, which serve as traps for bacteria. These microenvironments, fabricated by two-photon polymerization, may be a potential platform for drug delivery system, by promoting or inhibiting the growth of bacteria in specific biological or synthetic sites.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, CP.369, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: A J G
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Otuka
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Nacional de Nanotecnologia para o Agronegócio (LNNA), Embrapa Instrumentação, Rua XV de Novembro, 1452, CP.741, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Corrêa
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Analysis, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo State (UNESP), 1621 Expedicionarios do Brasil Street, Araraquara, Sao Paulo 14801-960, Brazil.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, CP.369, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: crmendon@ifsc.usp.br.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Mendonça
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D060833:Cellular Microenvironment / Q000502:physiology*; D004583:Electrons; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D007834:Lasers; D054802:Molecular Imprinting / Q000379:methods*; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers
keywords: Bacterial; Microfabrication; Two-photon polymerization