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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #302331

Title: Antibacterial and antibiofilm surfaces through Polydopamine-assisted immobilization of Lysostaphin as an antibacterial enzyme

Author
item YEROSLAVSKY, GIL - Bar-Ilan University
item Foster Frey, Juli
item Donovan, David
item RAHIMIPOUR, SHAI - Bar-Ilan University

Submitted to: Langmuir
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/2/2014
Publication Date: 12/28/2014
Citation: Yeroslavsky, G., Foster Frey, J.A., Donovan, D.M., Rahimipour, S. 2014. Antibacterial and antibiofilm surfaces through Polydopamine-assisted immobilization of Lysostaphin as an antibacterial enzyme. Langmuir. 31(3):1064–1073.

Interpretive Summary: Problem -There is a need for long-lived antimicrobial technologies to prevent the spread of disease-causing pathogens that form a bacterial film, referred to as a biofilm, on commonly used surfaces in both food production and health care. Most cleansing and decontaminating wash solutions to eradicate biofilms are short-lived, caustic and can damage common surfaces. C Accomplishment - This work demonstrates the use of a novel binding technology to adhere antimicrobial enzymes to common surfaces, such as glass and plastic, where biofilms form. One particular enzyme, lysostaphin, was tested and the bound form of the enzyme was active and was capable of eradicating bacteria even after multiple washing and drying treatments across several days. C Contribution of Accomplishment to Solving the Problem - This adds to the arsenal of potential treatments to sanitize surfaces for both food production and health care. There are numerous alternative protein antimicrobials that can now be tested for efficacy and potential commercialization when bound to a variety of relevant surface materials.

Technical Abstract: Antibiotic resistance and the colonization of bacteria on surfaces, often as biofilms, prolong hospitalization periods, increase mortality, and are thus major concerns for health care providers. There is an urgent need for antimicrobial and antibiofilm surface treatments that are semi-permanent, can eradicate both biofilms and planktonic pathogens over long periods of time, and that do not select for resistant strains. We have recently demonstrated a simple, robust and biocompatible method that utilizes the adhesive property of polydopamine (PDA) to covalently attach antibacterial agents to a variety of surfaces under mild conditions to generate antibacterial surfaces. In this study, we have combined the reactivity of PDA-coated surfaces and the antibacterial activity of the antimicrobial enzyme lysostaphin (Lst) to confer antibacterial and antifouling properties to different surfaces. The immobilization of the recombinant Lst onto PDA-coated surfaces was carried out under physiological conditions, minimizing the losses of bioagent activity. The presence of Lst on the modified surfaces was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and immunochemically using anti-Lst antibody. We also found that the immobilized Lst maintains its endopeptidase activity to degrade the staphylococcal cell wall, avoiding most intracellular bacterial resistance mechanisms. Moreover, the Lst-coated surfaces kill hospital strains of Staphylococcus aureus in less than 15 min and eradicate biofilm formation.