Bacteriostatic Effects of Apatite-Covered Ag/AgBr/TiO₂ Nanocomposite in the Dark: Anomaly in Bacterial Motility

Abstract

In this paper, we report a unique property of inactivating Gram-positive/negative bacteria in the dark via apatite-covered Ag/AgBr/TiO2 nanocomposites (AAAT). We demonstrate that the inactivation mechanism is bacteriostatic based on the cellular integrity and motility of bacteria, low toxicity and high durability of AAAT. From straight observations, the catalytic loading affects the bacterial replication and cell envelope as well as inducing an anomaly in bacterial motility (continuous rotation) for both types of bacteria. Both simulation and experimental analyses suggest that the anomaly could be due to posterior intracellular signals rather than purely mechanical effects (e.g., size enlargement and motility retardation). Provoked by chemomechanical stimuli, these signals increase the frequency of flagellar tumbling and eventually entangle the bacteria.

Looking Beyond Energy Efficiency: An Applied Review of Water Desalination Technologies and an Introduction to Capillary-Driven Desalination

“…In membrane-based desalination, water is separated from its solute by membrane, a selective barrier which allows the separation of solvent and solute using a combination of diffusion and sieving [200][201][202][203][204][205][206][207][208]. Diffusion of chemicals from a lower to a higher concentration (chemical potential) causes osmotic pressure [209]. This diffusion can be reversed if a pressure higher than osmotic pressure is exerted to overcome the chemical potential flow [38,50,[210][211][212].…”

A numerical method for inextensible elastic filaments in viscous fluids

“…The fluid-structure interactions of elastic filaments are important for many biological applications. Important examples include the dynamics of elastic flagella or cilia which are involved in microorganism locomotion [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9], biofilm streamers which influence ecosystem processes [10][11][12], flexible microtubule and motor protein assemblies which occur in cytoskeletal networks [13][14][15][16][17], and super-coiled DNA [18][19][20][21]. Typically at these small scales the dynamics, deformations, and interactions of filaments with each other and surrounding fluid occur in the Stokes limit where viscous forces are dominant and inertial effects are negligible.…”