Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Zhong Li, Xinyu Wang, Jie Wang, Xinyi Yuan, Xiaoyu Jiang, Yanyi Wang, Chao Zhong, Dake Xu, Tingyue Gu, Fuhui Wang
Summary: Biofilms, traditionally seen as problematic, possess favorable traits and have potential applications in various fields. Researchers have designed strategies to create functional biofilms through integration of signaling pathways, engineering of metabolic pathways, and modification of extracellular polymeric substances. Future advancements in synthetic biology and other disciplines will lead to practical large-scale applications of biofilms.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
(2022)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Razan N. Alnahhas, Mary J. Dunlop
Summary: Stress response mechanisms in bacteria play a crucial role in their survival when facing different challenges. These mechanisms can vary across cells and time, leading to heterogeneous phenotypes at the single-cell level. These phenotypes, along with other cell features, contribute to the overall population-level response to stress and can involve diverging and coordinating actions such as bet-hedging and biofilm production. Understanding the combined impact of these effects is important for the survival of bacterial communities.
CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Chang Liu, Hua Zhang, Xian Peng, Meghan S. Blackledge, Robert E. Furlani, Haoting Li, Zhaoming Su, Roberta J. Melander, Christian Melander, Suzanne Michalek, Hui Wu
Summary: Antibiotic resistance is a major concern in public health, and new alternatives to combat biofilm-driven infections are needed. A 2-aminoimidazole derivative has been identified to inhibit biofilm formation in Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus aureus by targeting a key transcriptional regulator. This compound shows promise as a new anti-infective agent that can attenuate virulence in bacterial infections.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
George A. Naclerio, Herman O. Sintim
Summary: HP-29, a newly developed halogenated phenazine, exhibits potent antimicrobial activity with a remarkable minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.08 mu M against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In addition to eradicating preformed biofilm through iron starvation, HP-29 is also non-toxic to mammalian cell lines and efficacious in wound infection models.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vera Bettenworth, Simon van Vliet, Bartosz Turkowyd, Annika Bamberger, Heiko Wendt, Matthew McIntosh, Wieland Steinchen, Ulrike Endesfelder, Anke Becker
Summary: In quorum sensing, bacteria use frequency-modulated pulsing mechanism to make collective decisions. Each cell's physiological state and behavioral needs are encoded in the pulse frequency of autoinducer synthase gene expression, and the integration of pulse frequencies with other cells determines the initiation of collective behavior.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Joana Costa, Antonio G. G. Sousa, Ana Carolina Carneiro, Ana Paula Mucha, C. Marisa R. Almeida, Catarina Magalhaes, Mafalda S. Baptista
Summary: The study showed that exposure to Cu NPs <50 nm in estuarine sediments promoted immediate and transient expression of key denitrification genes. Over time, gene expression and potential denitrification rates increased, but after 48 hours, expression levels were no longer different from the control group.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-NANO
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Karolina Kasza, Pratik Gurnani, Kim R. Hardie, Miguel Camara, Cameron Alexander
Summary: This review highlights the importance of novel antimicrobial approaches in addressing the antibiotic resistance crisis, emphasizing the critical role of biofilms in human infections. Encapsulation within polymeric carriers to enhance treatment efficacy, permeation, and retention at infection sites is a current research focus, but also presents challenges and solutions specific to different tissues.
ADVANCED DRUG DELIVERY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joel A. Finbloom, Preethi Raghavan, Michael Kwon, Bhushan N. Kharbikar, Michelle A. Yu, Tejal A. Desai
Summary: Researchers have developed a nanoscale drug carrier that can deliver both antibiotics and antimicrobial silver nanoparticles to bacterial infections, showing synergistic antimicrobial effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The carrier has also demonstrated positive outcomes in reducing bacterial burden and improving survival outcomes in a mouse model of lung infection.
Review
Entomology
Monika Hilker, Hassan Salem, Nina E. Fatouros
Summary: Insect eggs face various threats from their environment, both non-living and living. They rely on a combination of innate development and genetic traits from their parents for survival. Recent evidence suggests that parents adjust egg characteristics to suit the environment, while eggs themselves respond to environmental challenges and are affected by associated microbes. This review highlights the phenotypic plasticity of insect eggs and their active interaction with the environment.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Marina Caldara, Cristina Belgiovine, Eleonora Secchi, Roberto Rusconi
Summary: The spread of biofilms on medical implants is a major contributor to persistent and chronic infections in clinical settings. This article reviews recent studies on biofilm formation and microbial colonization on a wide range of indwelling devices. The focus is on bacterial abundance and distribution across different devices and body sites, as well as the role of environmental features and the interaction between bacterial colonization and the human immune system.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mengjing Wang, Wen-Xiong Wang
Summary: This study investigated the selective ingestion and response of Daphnia to different types of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs). The results showed that algae had a negative impact on MNP uptake, and Daphnia selectively ingested larger and positively charged plastics. The findings provided important insights into the selectivity of MNPs and the microenvironmental responses of zooplankton guts.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nishanth Kuchi, Lidita Khandeparker, Arga Chandrashekar Anil
Summary: This study investigated the bacterial diversity at two geographically distant ports during different seasons. Results showed that bacteria with hydrocarbon degrading ability were present in both marine and riverine ports during the monsoon season, while an increase in benthic bacterial OTUs was evident at the marine port during the non-monsoon season. The presence of ecologically relevant bacteria in port environments could be indicators of prevailing environmental conditions and anthropogenic influence.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marko Rozman, Itziar Lekunberri, Ivana Grgic, Carles M. Borrego, Mira Petrovic
Summary: This study examined the impact of desiccation and pollution on the composition and metabolism of stream biofilm bacterial communities. The integration of biofilm community composition analysis, metabolome characterization, and dissolved organic matter analysis revealed strong genotype-to-phenotype interconnections. Desiccation had a stronger effect than emerging contaminants, but the biofilm communities did modify the chemical composition of their environment under pollution.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Tim Holm Jakobsen, Yijuan Xu, Lene Bay, Henrik Carl Schonheyder, Thomas Jakobsen, Thomas Bjarnsholt, Trine Rolighed Thomsen
Summary: Recent decades have seen an increase in knowledge regarding the distribution, species diversity, and growth patterns of bacteria in human chronic infections. However, sampling methods have not kept pace with molecular identification techniques, making sampling a complicated task.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Ailing Zhao, Jiazheng Sun, Yipin Liu
Summary: Bacterial biofilms are complex microbial communities surrounded by extracellular polymeric substances. They are a significant problem in treating bacterial infections and can exhibit increased resistance to antibiotics, causing device-related and non-device infections and posing a serious threat to global health. Therefore, early detection and search for new treatments are essential. This paper systematically reviews the formation, infections, detection methods, and potential treatment strategies of bacterial biofilms, aiming to provide researchers with the latest progress in their detection and treatment.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Martin Kretschmer, Elif N. Hayta, Marvin J. Ertelt, Michaela A. Wuerbser, Job Boekhoven, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: Conventional bioreactors are often used for planktonic bacteria or submerged biofilms, while reactors for biofilm production at the solid-air interface are rare. However, recent research in civil engineering has highlighted the increased demand for terrestrial biofilm production due to their ability to enhance water repellency and the lifespan of cementitious materials. This article introduces a new type of bioreactor that enables continuous production of bacterial biofilms at the solid-air interface, which have nearly identical properties to biofilms cultivated using classical microbiological techniques. Furthermore, this versatile setup also allows for the growth of other microbial organisms, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and Penicillium chrysogenum fungus.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ioannis Zachos, Robert Genth, Samuel Sutiono, Matthias Marczynski, Oliver Lieleg, Volker Sieber
Summary: By engineering a glucose dehydrogenase from Saccharolobus solfataricus, researchers were able to adapt it to a thermostable cofactor, carba-NADP(+). Using a microfluidic screening system at elevated temperatures, they discovered variants of the enzyme with significantly increased catalytic speed and efficiency.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Carolin A. Rickert, Maria G. Bauer, Julia C. Hoffmeister, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: Recent advances in biomedical materials have shown that covalent mucin coatings on polymeric materials can greatly enhance the surface properties of medical devices. Sterilization of the coated devices is essential for medical applications, but common methods may compromise the structural integrity of the coatings. Covalent mucin coatings on medical devices show potential to withstand sterilization treatments, with ethylene oxide fumigation being the most promising method. The findings suggest that the beneficial properties of mucin coatings demonstrated in vitro can be transferred to in vivo applications.
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Philip M. M. Stanley, Alice Y. Y. Su, Vanessa Ramm, Pascal Fink, Ceren Kimna, Oliver Lieleg, Martin Elsner, Johannes A. A. Lercher, Bernhard Rieger, Julien Warnan, Roland A. A. Fischer
Summary: A light-harvesting metal-organic framework has been engineered as a catalyst carrier, achieving controllable photocatalytic synthesis of syngas. This study is a significant breakthrough for photocatalytic CO2 reduction and H2 evolution in sustainable energy cycles.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bernardo Miller Naranjo, Semai Naicker, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: The study presents a testing setup for evaluating the functionality of coatings on endotracheal tubes. Different coating strategies were compared through ex vivo experiments, and it was found that covalent coatings generated from lab-purified mucins performed the best. This approach can also be applied to evaluate coatings on other medical tubing systems.
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Jing Zhao, Matthias Marczynski, Manuel Henkel, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: Physiologically, biological hydrogels have the ability to selectively trap diffusing molecules and particles, which has led to increasing interest in using selective hydrogel barriers in biomedicine and medical engineering. However, it has been difficult to control the type and strength of filtration process when creating hydrogels with selective permeabilities using synthetic polymers. In this study, hybrid gels with adjustable selectivity profiles were generated by mixing (bio-)macromolecules with agarose.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Maria G. G. Bauer, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: Thin elastomeric polymer materials, like PDMS and PU, are both compliant and resilient, making them suitable for applications in limited space and repeated deformations in the human body. The autohesive behavior of these materials, which causes them to stick to themselves, limits their medical applications. However, different bio-macromolecular coatings, such as mucin coating, can effectively suppress the autohesive behavior while maintaining flexibility and transparency. These coatings not only broaden the medical application range of elastomeric devices, but also have potential benefits for soft robotics.
MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Carolin A. Rickert, Inga Piller, Fabio Henkel, Roland Fromme, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: In order to improve the operability and reduce side effects of medical devices, researchers have found that mucin coatings can greatly enhance their surface properties. However, applying coatings to optical systems like contact lenses poses challenges. This study demonstrates that mucin macromolecules can be attached to gas permeable contact lenses without compromising their critical parameters and significantly improving their wettability, preventing tribological damage, and reducing lipid deposition while maintaining their transparency and mechanical properties.
BIOMATERIALS ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Di Fan, Bernardo Miller Naranjo, Salma Mansi, Petra Mela, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: Biopolymer coatings on implants mediate interactions between synthetic material and biological environment. A layer-by-layer approach using mussel-inspired polydopamine as adhesive intermediate layer is presented to build biopolymer multilayer coatings without additional chemical modifications. The number of layers and polymer type both modulate the coating properties. This study offers a straightforward and universal coating method, which may broaden the use of multilayer coatings in biomedical applications.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carolin A. Rickert, Salma Mansi, Di Fan, Petra Mela, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: With its ability to produce customized medical devices and tissue engineering structures at low costs, 3D printing is a highly promising technology in the field of personalized medicine. However, the limited printability of soft materials and the lack of variability in available bio-inks are major challenges. In this study, a novel bio-ink based on functionalized mucin, a glycoprotein with immunomodulating and anti-biofouling properties, is developed. The findings suggest that this 3D printable bio-ink has great potential for various biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, wound healing, and soft robotics.
MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Laura Tebcharani, Nahida Akter, Di Fan, Oliver Lieleg, Julianne M. Gibbs, Job Boekhoven
Summary: Several challenges must be addressed in the application of nucleic acids as therapeutic agents. We have developed a simple, versatile, and cost-effective platform to control the release of cholesterol-conjugated oligonucleotides. Furthermore, we have integrated this platform into a dual-release system that allows for zero-order kinetics release of a hydrophobic drug, followed by rapid release of cholesterol-conjugated DNA.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jennifer Rodon-Fores, Michaela A. Wuerbser, Martin Kretschmer, Benedikt Riess, Alexander M. Bergmann, Oliver Lieleg, Job Boekhoven
Summary: In this study, a chemically fueled peptide was designed to exhibit self-healing properties, even in the absence of dynamics in fiber assembly and disassembly. The self-healing mechanism involved the formation of new nucleation sites by chemically fueled peptide molecules upon fiber perturbation. This research contributes to narrowing the gap between biological and synthetic self-assemblies by exploring the potential application of the self-healing mechanism in more complex structures.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ceren Kimna, Bernardo Miller Naranjo, Franziska Eckert, Di Fan, Dario Arcuti, Petra Mela, Oliver Lieleg
Summary: This study presents the development of mechanosensitive nanogels that can release drugs in response to blood vessel constrictions, offering safer solutions for vascular therapy.
Article
Mechanics
Daniel Van Opdenbosch, Martin Kretschmer, Oliver Lieleg, Cordt Zollfrank
Summary: By studying the viscosity of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), it was found that it is correlated with temperature, shearing rate, and tacticity. The results showed that the viscosities of PHB can be fitted using the Herschel-Bulkley-Cross-Doolittle model with single-point correction, and there is a discontinuous behavior in the viscosity as tacticity changes. Additionally, the values of vibrational and excess free volume were found to correlate with the structural and external properties of PHB.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Aran Singanayagam, Joseph Footitt, Matthias Marczynski, Giorgia Radicioni, Michael T. Cross, Lydia J. Finney, Maria-Belen Trujillo-Torralbo, Maria Calderazzo, Jie Zhu, Julia Aniscenko, Thomas B. Clarke, Philip L. Molyneaux, Nathan W. Bartlett, Miriam F. Moffatt, William O. Cookson, Jadwiga Wedzicha, Christopher M. Evans, Richard C. Boucher, Mehmet Kesimer, Oliver Lieleg, Patrick Mallia, Sebastian L. Johnston
Summary: During exacerbations of chronic respiratory diseases, the concentrations of airway mucus 5AC (MUC5AC) and MUC5B increase. Changes in MUC5AC expression are more sensitive to viral load, inflammation, symptom severity, decrements in lung function, and secondary bacterial infections during exacerbations. MUC5AC is functionally related to inflammation.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2022)