title: Inhibitory effects of nisin-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube sheet on biofilm formation from Bacillus anthracis spores.
abstract: Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheet was fabricated from a drawable MWCNT forest and then deposited on poly(methyl methacrylate) film. The film was further coated with a natural antimicrobial peptide nisin. We studied the effects of nisin coating on the attachment of Bacillus anthracis spores, the germination of attached spores, and the subsequent biofilm formation from attached spores. It was found that the strong adsorptivity and the super hydrophobicity of MWCNTs provided an ideal platform for nisin coating. Nisin coating on MWCNT sheets decreased surface hydrophobicity, reduced spore attachment, and reduced the germination of attached spores by 3.5 fold, and further inhibited the subsequent biofilm formation by 94.6% compared to that on uncoated MWCNT sheet. Nisin also changed the morphology of vegetative cells in the formed biofilm. The results of this study demonstrated that the anti-adhesion and antimicrobial effect of nisin in combination with the physical properties of carbon nanotubes had the potential in producing effective anti-biofilm formation surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: xdong1@nccu.edu.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: lyang@nccu.edu.
authors.forename: Liju
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000187:drug effects*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D009561:Nisin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D009561:Nisin; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate
keywords: Bacillus anthracis; Biofilm; Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs); Nisin