SEM Analysis of Surface Impact on Biofilm Antibiotic Treatment

Abstract

The aim of this work was to use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the effect of ampicillin treatment on Escherichia coli biofilms formed on two surface materials with different properties, silicone (SIL) and glass (GLA). Epifluorescence microscopy (EM) was initially used to assess biofilm formation and killing efficiency on both surfaces. This technique showed that higher bacterial colonization was obtained in the hydrophobic SIL than in the hydrophilic GLA. It has also shown that higher biofilm inactivation was attained for GLA after the antibiotic treatment (7-log reduction versus 1-log reduction for SIL). Due to its high resolution and magnification, SEM enabled a more detailed analysis of the antibiotic effect on biofilm cells, complementing the killing efficiency information obtained by EM. SEM micrographs revealed that ampicillin-treated cells have an elongated form when compared to untreated cells. Additionally, it has shown that different materials induced different levels of elongation on cells exposed to antibiotic. Biofilms formed on GLA showed a 37% higher elongation than those formed on SIL. Importantly, cell elongation was related to viability since ampicillin had a higher bactericidal effect on GLA-formed biofilms. These findings raise the possibility of using SEM for understanding the efficacy of antimicrobial treatments by observation of biofilm morphology.

In vitro evaluation of the effects of Ultrasound Tongue Scraper on bacteria and biofilm formation

“…Bacterial adhesion in the treated samples was significantly lower than the untreated samples, with bacteria in the treated biofilm having abnormal cell shape and damage to the cell surface. These observations are similar to the recent reports of Gomes and Mergulhão, who used SEM to determine the morphological changes in biofilm during and after treatment. SEM provides accurate information about the surface and the position of biofilm cells but it does not provide quantitative data for statistical analysis …”

Electrical conductivity of carbon nanofiber reinforced resins: Potentiality of Tunneling Atomic Force Microscopy (TUNA) technique

“…In this regard, the reactive diluent BDE inside the unfilled and nanofilled epoxy precursor based on TGMDA has proven to be a key in reducing the viscosity of the epoxy matrix [2][3][4][5]8,[32][33][34][35][36]. Surface analysis methods have contributed to recent advancements in science, technology and industrial development [37,38]. The development of the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) revolutionized the study of nanoscale and atomic scale surface structures and properties [39], most of all in the case of electrically conductive nanofillers embedded in matrix [36].…”

Benzimidazolium salts prevent and disrupt methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

“…2). 27 Confocal and SEM images of an untreated bacterial biolms showed the formation of well-dened and homogenous bio-lms ( Fig. 2(1a and 2a)).…”

“…The reaction was allowed to warm up to R.T. and stirred until no more starting benzimidazole was observed by TLC (100% EtOAc) (2-3 hours). The reaction was then quenched with water and the aqueous layer was extracted three times with EtOAc, dried over Na 2 SO 4 and puried using silica gel chromatography (100% EtOAc) to afford the corresponding alkylated benzimidazole(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)). Yield 62%, 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) d 8.42 (s, 1H), 7.71-7.63 (m, 1H), 7.57-7.46 (m, 3H), 7.29-7.24 (m, 2H), 7.24-7.15 (m, 2H), 5.49 (s, 2H).…”