scholarly journals Development of a novel micro-bead force spectroscopy approach to measure the ability of a thermo-active polymer to remove bacteria from a corneal model

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pattem ◽  
T. Swift ◽  
S. Rimmer ◽  
T. Holmes ◽  
S. MacNeil ◽  
...  

AbstractMicrobial keratitis occurs from the infection of the cornea by fungi and or bacteria. It remains one of the most common global causes of irreversible blindness accounting for 3.5% (36 million) of blind people as of 2015. This paper looks at the use of a bacteria binding polymer designed to bind Staphylococcus aureus and remove it from the corneal surface. Mechanical unbinding measurements were used to probe the interactions of a thermo-active bacteria-binding polymer, highly-branched poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide), functionalised with modified vancomycin end groups (HB-PNIPAM-Van) to bacteria placed on rabbit corneal surfaces studied ex-vivo. This was conducted during sequential temperature phase transitions of HB-PNIPAM-Van-S. aureus below, above and below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in 3 stages, in-vitro, using a novel micro-bead force spectroscopy (MBFS) approach via atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effect of temperature on the functionality of HB-PNIPAM-Van-S. aureus showed that the polymer-bacteria complex reduced the work done in removing bacterial aggregates at T > LCST (p < 0.05), exhibiting reversibility at T < LCST (p < 0.05). At T < LCST, the breaking force, number of unbinding events, percentage fitted segments in the short and long range, and the percentage of unbinding events occurring in the long range (> 2.5 µm) increased (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the LCST phase transition temperature showed 100 × more unbinding events in the long-range z-length (> 2.5 µm) compared to S. aureus aggregates only. Here, we present the first study using AFM to assess the reversible mechanical impact of a thermo-active polymer-binding bacteria on a natural corneal surface.

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2450
Author(s):  
Lucy Urwin ◽  
Katarzyna Okurowska ◽  
Grace Crowther ◽  
Sanhita Roy ◽  
Prashant Garg ◽  
...  

Bacterial keratitis is a corneal infection which may cause visual impairment or even loss of the infected eye. It remains a major cause of blindness in the developing world. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are common causative agents and these bacterial species are known to colonise the corneal surface as biofilm populations. Biofilms are complex bacterial communities encased in an extracellular polymeric matrix and are notoriously difficult to eradicate once established. Biofilm bacteria exhibit different phenotypic characteristics from their planktonic counterparts, including an increased resistance to antibiotics and the host immune response. Therefore, understanding the role of biofilms will be essential in the development of new ophthalmic antimicrobials. A brief overview of biofilm-specific resistance mechanisms is provided, but this is a highly multifactorial and rapidly expanding field that warrants further research. Progression in this field is dependent on the development of suitable biofilm models that acknowledge the complexity of the ocular environment. Abiotic models of biofilm formation (where biofilms are studied on non-living surfaces) currently dominate the literature, but co-culture infection models are beginning to emerge. In vitro, ex vivo and in vivo corneal infection models have now been reported which use a variety of different experimental techniques and animal models. In this review, we will discuss existing corneal infection models and their application in the study of biofilms and host-pathogen interactions at the corneal surface.


VASA ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brunner-La Rocca ◽  
Schindler ◽  
Schlumpf ◽  
Saller ◽  
Suter

Background: Previous studies showed an anti-atherosclerotic effect of PADMA 28, an herbal formula based on Tibetan medicine. As the mechanisms of action are not fully understood, we investigated whether PADMA 28 may lower blood lipids and lipid oxidisability, and affect early endothelial dysfunction. Patients and methods: Sixty otherwise healthy subjects with total cholesterol ≥5.2 mmol/l and < 8.0 mmol/l were randomly assigned to placebo or PADMA 28, 3 x 2 capsules daily, for 4 weeks (double-blind). Blood lipids (total, LDL-, and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, Apo-lipoprotein A1 and B) and ex vivo lipid oxidisability were measured before and after treatment. In a subset of 24 subjects, endothelial function was assessed using venous occlusion plethysmography with intraarterial infusion of acetylcholine. Isolated LDL and plasma both untreated and pre-treated with PADMA 28 extract were oxidised by the radical generator AAPH. Conjugated diene formation was measured at 245 nm. Results: Blood lipids did not change during the study in both groups. In contrast to previous reports in mild hypercholesterolaemia, no endothelial dysfunction was seen and, consequently, was not influenced by therapy. Ex vivo blood lipid oxidisability was significantly reduced with PADMA 28 (area under curve: 5.29 ± 1.62 to 4.99 ± 1.46, p = 0.01), and remained unchanged in the placebo group (5.33 ± 1.88 to 5.18 ± 1.78, p > 0.1). This effect persisted one week after cessation of medication. In vitro experiments confirmed the prevention of lipid peroxidation in the presence of PADMA 28 extracts. Persistent protection was also seen for LDL isolated from PADMA 28-pretreated blood after being subjected to rigorous purification. Conclusions: This study suggests that the inhibition of blood lipid oxidisability by PADMA 28 may play a role in its anti-atherosclerotic effect.


2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Serafini ◽  
Giuseppa Morabito

Dietary polyphenols have been shown to scavenge free radicals, modulating cellular redox transcription factors in different in vitro and ex vivo models. Dietary intervention studies have shown that consumption of plant foods modulates plasma Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant Capacity (NEAC), a biomarker of the endogenous antioxidant network, in human subjects. However, the identification of the molecules responsible for this effect are yet to be obtained and evidences of an antioxidant in vivo action of polyphenols are conflicting. There is a clear discrepancy between polyphenols (PP) concentration in body fluids and the extent of increase of plasma NEAC. The low degree of absorption and the extensive metabolism of PP within the body have raised questions about their contribution to the endogenous antioxidant network. This work will discuss the role of polyphenols from galenic preparation, food extracts, and selected dietary sources as modulators of plasma NEAC in humans.


1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Delvallee ◽  
Annie Paffen ◽  
Geert-Jan De Klerk

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (08) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Ulmer ◽  
L Schaaf ◽  
W Zopf ◽  
W Steurer
Keyword(s):  

Pneumologie ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S1-S125
Author(s):  
G Ulrich-Merzenich ◽  
LJ Juergens ◽  
A Shcherbakova ◽  
A Tüschen ◽  
I Tuleta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

1973 ◽  
Vol 29 (01) ◽  
pp. 183-189
Author(s):  
C. A Praga ◽  
E. M Pogliani

SummaryTemperature represents a very important variable in ADP-induced platelet aggregation.When low doses of ADP ( < 1 (μM) are used to induce platelet aggregation, the length of the incubation period of PRP in the cuvette holder of the aggregometer, thermostatted at 37° C, is very critical. Samples of the same PRP previously kept at room temperature, were incubated for increasing periods of time in the cuvette of the aggregometer before adding ADP, and a significant decrease of aggregation, proportional to the length of incubation, was observed. Stirring of the PRP during the incubation period made these changes more evident.To measure the exact temperature of the PRP during incubation in the aggre- gometer, a thermocouple device was used. While the temperature of the cuvette holder was stable at 37° C, the PRP temperature itself increased exponentially, taking about ten minutes from the beginning of the incubation to reach the value of 37° C. The above results have a practical significance in the reproducibility of the platelet aggregation test in vitro and acquire particular value when the effect of inhibitors of ADP induced platelet aggregation is studied.Experiments carried out with three anti-aggregating agents (acetyl salicyclic acid, dipyridamole and metergoline) have shown that the incubation conditions which influence both the effect of the drugs on platelets and the ADP breakdown in plasma must be strictly controlled.


1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (06) ◽  
pp. 687-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
P T Larsson ◽  
N H Wallén ◽  
A Martinsson ◽  
N Egberg ◽  
P Hjemdahl

SummaryThe significance of platelet β-adrenoceptors for platelet responses to adrenergic stimuli in vivo and in vitro was studied in healthy volunteers. Low dose infusion of the β-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline decreased platelet aggregability in vivo as measured by ex vivo filtragometry. Infusion of adrenaline, a mixed α- and β-adrenoceptor agonist, increased platelet aggregability in vivo markedly, as measured by ex vivo filtragometry and plasma β-thromboglobulin levels. Adrenaline levels were 3–4 nM in venous plasma during infusion. Both adrenaline and high dose isoprenaline elevated plasma von Willebrand factor antigen levels β-Blockade by propranolol did not alter our measures of platelet aggregability at rest or during adrenaline infusions, but inhibited adrenaline-induced increases in vWf:ag. In a model using filtragometry to assess platelet aggregability in whole blood in vitro, propranolol enhanced the proaggregatory actions of 5 nM, but not of 10 nM adrenaline. The present data suggest that β-adrenoceptor stimulation can inhibit platelet function in vivo but that effects of adrenaline at high physiological concentrations are dominated by an α-adrenoceptor mediated proaggregatory action.


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