Collaborative Research: Surface functionalization to promote beneficial biofilm formation and stability

合作研究：表面功能化促进有益生物膜的形成和稳定性

• 批准号: 2004959
• 负责人: Hong Lin
• 金额: $ 4.31万
• 依托单位: University of Houston - Downtown
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-06-15 至 2023-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2004959&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Surface; functionalization; promote

PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYHarmful biofilms cause many major problems in human health and the environment. Instead of developing strategies to prevent biofilm formation on materials, an alternative approach is to design materials that promote the formation of beneficial biofilms that expel harmful bacteria. In addition to live microbes, the major component of biofilms is the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) secreted by the microbes. In this collaborative project, researchers will modify materials surface with specific biologically active molecules and investigate their role on the formation and stability of the biofilms and EPS. Increasing body of evidence has indicated that different material surfaces may strongly influence the properties of a biofilm. However, the underlying mechanism and the role of the immobilized biologically active molecules on EPS secretion and biofilm formation are largely unknown. The proposed research project aims to bridge this important gap of knowledge which will facilitate development of surface biofunctionalization to promote formation of stable beneficial biofilms. Furthermore, this collaborative project will provide training opportunities for undergraduate students including underrepresented students in biomaterials technology and data science, especially in analyzing large datasets consisting of thousands of biomacromolecules and elucidating their functions. PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis collaborative project aims to gain understanding on how surface presentation of multiple ligands affects the formation and stability of beneficial bacterial biofilms as well as their extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The investigators will employ their surface functionalization methods to present a variety of strong and specific ligands targeting various bacterial surface components on silicone surfaces. They will determine the effect of such surfaces on biofilm formation by two non-pathogenic E. coli strains. They will also evaluate the long-term stability of such biofilms against the challenge by other bacteria using their unique high-throughput flow biofilm reactor system. The EPS components secreted by the bacteria throughout the biofilm life cycle will be identified and quantified by state-of-the-art mass spectrometry. The data is expected to provide new insights into how EPS are developed during biofilm formation and shed light on their biological functions. Guided by the knowledge generated from the study, the investigators will explore the potential of tailoring the surface presentation of specific ligands to “program” the formation of biofilms with desired properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

有害生物膜在人类健康和环境中引起了许多重大问题。与其开发防止材料上形成生物膜的策略，另一种方法是设计促进有益生物膜形成的材料，从而驱逐有害细菌。除了活微生物外，生物膜的主要成分是微生物分泌的胞外聚合物质（EPS）。在这个合作项目中，研究人员将用特定的生物活性分子修饰材料表面，并研究它们在生物膜和EPS的形成和稳定性中的作用。越来越多的证据表明，不同的材料表面可能强烈地影响生物膜的性质。然而，固定化生物活性分子对EPS分泌和生物膜形成的潜在机制和作用在很大程度上是未知的。提出的研究项目旨在弥合这一重要的知识空白，这将促进表面生物功能化的发展，以促进稳定有益生物膜的形成。此外，该合作项目将为本科生提供培训机会，包括在生物材料技术和数据科学方面代表性不足的学生，特别是在分析由数千个生物大分子组成的大型数据集并阐明其功能方面。本合作项目旨在了解多种配体的表面呈现如何影响有益细菌生物膜及其细胞外聚合物（EPS）的形成和稳定性。研究人员将采用他们的表面功能化方法来呈现针对有机硅表面上各种细菌表面成分的各种强效和特异性配体。他们将确定这些表面对两种非致病性大肠杆菌菌株形成生物膜的影响。他们还将利用他们独特的高通量流动生物膜反应器系统评估这种生物膜对抗其他细菌挑战的长期稳定性。细菌在整个生物膜生命周期中分泌的EPS成分将通过最先进的质谱法进行鉴定和定量。这些数据有望为生物膜形成过程中EPS的发展提供新的见解，并阐明其生物学功能。根据从研究中获得的知识，研究人员将探索定制特定配体的表面呈现的潜力，以“编程”形成具有所需特性的生物膜。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。