Cyanobacterial Natural Products for the Inhibition of Biofilm Formation and Biofouling

Abstract

Biofouling is defined by the non-specific attachment of biological material (proteins, carbohydrates, prokaryotic cells and higher organisms) to surfaces upon their exposuret oa ny biological fluid. Biofouling is a serious problem in many areas ranging from marine technology,nuclear power plants, dentistry,food processing to biomedical implants. This process can be addressed either actively by chemical compounds inhibiting growth, settlement or biofilm formation, or passively by generating repellent or resistant surfaces. This highlight article gives an overview over different secondary metabolites from cyanobacteria useful in this context. Acandidate for active antifouling is nostocarboline, acarboline alkaloid from Nostoc.Ithas distinct and powerful activities against both prokaryotic and eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms. This compound is acandidate for the replacement of toxic tributyltin (TBT) antifouling coatings. Another passive strategy is presented utilizing the strong binding of anachelin to metal oxide surfaces. This anchor binds polyethyleneglycol (PEG) efficiently to surfaces and renders TiO 2 protein resistant. This anchor displays superior properties when compared to dopamine or DOPA, ak ey constituent in mussel adhesive proteins (MAP). Implications for biomaterials design arediscussed.

The cyanobacterial alkaloid nostocarboline: an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase and trypsin

“…(78-12A) and other cyanobacteria to be promising sources of lead compounds for the development of new drugs and pesticides/insecticides (as reviewed for other natural acetylcholineesterase inhibitors, Houghton et al 2006) or novel antifouling agents (reviewed in Gademann 2007).…”

Surface modifications based on the cyanobacterial siderophore anachelin: from structure to functional biomaterials design

“…A promising strategy to combat biofouling is the generation of surfaces which are resistant or inert to this process (Yebra et al 2004;Gademann 2007). To this end, several antifouling polymers such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) (Desai and Hubbell 1991;Lee et al 1989;Prime and Whitesides 1991), polyglycerol (Siegers et al 2004), poly(ethyleneoxide)-poly(propyleneoxide)/pluronics (Lee et al 2000;Marsh et al 2002), peptoids (Statz et al 2005) and poly-2-methyl-2-oxazoline (Konradi et al 2008) have been developed.…”

Alkaliphilic bacteria: applications in industrial biotechnology

“…The organism could act on cyanide at a highly alkaline pH of 11.5. All of these studies have shown that due to their key role in the iron cycle, siderophores have attractive potential for development and advancement of therapeutic drugs [56], inhibition of biofilm formation [70], and bioremediation [105].…”