title: Immobilized Hydrolytic Enzymes Exhibit Antibiofilm Activity Against Escherichia coli at Sub-Lethal Concentrations.
abstract: The effects of two commercially available immobilized enzymes (namely the glycosidase pectinase and the protease subtilisin A) at sub-lethal concentrations were investigated in terms of their influence on biofilm genesis, on the composition of the biofilm matrix, and their antibiotic synergy against Escherichia coli biofilm, used as a model system of bacterial biofilms. The best antibiofilm performance of solid-supported hydrolases was obtained at the surface concentration of 0.022 and 0.095 U/cm(2) with a reduction of 1.2 and 2.3 log CFU/biofilm for pectinase and subtilisin, respectively. At these enzyme surface concentrations, the biocatalysts affected the structural composition of the biofilm matrix, impacting biofilm thickness. Finally, the immobilized hydrolases enhanced biofilm sensitivity to a clinically relevant concentration of the antibiotic ampicillin. At the final antibiotic concentration of 0.1 mg/ml, a reduction of 2 and 3.5 log10 units in presence of 0.022 Upectinase/cm(2) and 0.095 Usubtilisin/cm(2) was obtained, respectively, in comparison the antibiotic alone. Immobilized pectinase and subtilisin at sub-lethal concentrations demonstrated a great potential for antibiofilm applications.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per gli Alimenti, la Nutrizione e l'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 2, 20133, Milan, Italy, federica.villa@unimi.it.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Secundo
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polo
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cappitelli
mesh_terms: D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D011096:Polygalacturonase / Q000378:metabolism; D013381:Subtilisins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized; D000667:Ampicillin; D011096:Polygalacturonase; D013381:Subtilisins