title: Evaluation of a Microbial Sensor as a Tool for Antimicrobial Activity Test of Cosmetic Preservatives.
abstract: For high-throughput screening of novel cosmetic preservatives, a rapid and simple assay to evaluate the antimicrobial activities should be developed because the conventional agar dilution method is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To address this issue, we evaluated a microbial sensor as a tool for rapid antimicrobial activity testing. The sensor consists of an oxygen electrode and a filter membrane that holds the test microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The antimicrobial activity of the tested cosmetic preservative was evaluated by measuring the current increases corresponding to the decreases in oxygen consumption in the microbial respiration. The current increases detected by the sensor showed positive correlation to the concentrations of two commercially used preservatives, chlorphenesin and 2-phenoxyethanol. The same tendency was also observed when a model cosmetic product was used as a preservative solvent, indicating the feasibility in practical use. Furthermore, the microbial sensor and microfluidic flow-cell was assembled to achieve sequential measurements. The sensor system presented in this study could be useful in large-scale screening experiments.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology and Life Science, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gomyo
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ookawa
authors.forename: Kota
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oshibuchi
authors.forename: Yuriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugamura
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosokawa
authors.forename: Nozomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shionoiri
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D002743:Chlorphenesin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003358:Cosmetics; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods*; D004560:Electricity; D004566:Electrodes / Q000382:microbiology; D005026:Ethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D003358:Cosmetics; D005026:Ethylene Glycols; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; C005398:phenoxyethanol; D002743:Chlorphenesin