The effect of organic solvents on selected microorganisms and model liposome membrane

Abstract

The effect of methanol, ethanol, acetone, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide and Nujol on the growth of Escherichia coli DH5α, Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae D273 was investigated. All of the tested cultures appeared susceptible to the organic media they were treated with, which evinced in apparent hindering of cell development. The observed diverse solvent tolerance, except from their different biochemical activity, may also be related to the changes in cell membrane fluidity induced by the solvent species. Parallel electron paramagnetic resonance investigations using egg yolk lecithin model liposomes revealed that the fluidity of the phospholipid system in cell membranes may either be considerably decreased (Nujol, DMF, ethanol) or increased (acetone), thus rendering difficult the intracellular nutrient supply. Hence, even the chemically neutral Nujol produced a distinct cell-growth inhibitory effect. These results are fairly consistent with the outcome of the survival tests, particularly for the bacteria strains.

Disinfection Treatments of Disposable Respirators Influencing the Bactericidal/Bacteria Removal Efficiency, Filtration Performance, and Structural Integrity

“…Additionally, the UV irradiation breaks the strong bond of cell membranes, such as O-H, P-O, and N-H bonds of E. coli, or induces oxidation, leading to cell death [54]. The solvents and detergent laundering treatments have compound effect of bactericidal and bacteria removal activity, by accumulating in the lipid of membrane and degrading the membrane integrity while inducing suspension of bacterial droplet into the liquid [55,56]. Meanwhile, laundering effectively removed bacteria by detaching them from fibers, rather than sterilizing the cells.…”

Response‐Surface‐Optimized and Scaled‐Up Microbial Electrosynthesis of Chiral Alcohols

“…As already shown above, a reduced concentration of acetophenone improved the productivity. As organic solvents can have a destabilizing effect on cell membranes, the cell membrane of E. coli might get harmed when acetophenone enters the cell, which could eventually lead to cell membrane disruption and thus, cell lysis. Determination of the protein concentration (Figure C) in the reaction medium suggests complete cell lysis after approximately 40 h, which is in agreement with no observable colony forming units (CFU) on antibiotic‐LB‐agar plates after this duration (data not shown) .…”

Untargetted Metabolomic Exploration of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Stress Response to Cinnamon Essential Oil

“…In our previous study we determined that antimycobacterial activity of cinnamon essential oil against Mtb H37Ra is equal to activity of cinnamaldehyde itself [21], hence most probably this compound is primarily responsible for activity of the whole essential oil. DMSO was selected as a second control, as it is known for its action influencing the integrity of bacterial membranes [42]. It was reported to open pores or holes in bacterial cell membranes and increase membrane permeability, facilitating uptake of antibiotics or nucleic acids isolated from bacteriophages [43].…”