Real-time visualisation and modelling of biofilm inhibition by lactam

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In order to meet its environmental targets Unilever has a vested interest in natural and nature-derived product ingredients. Antimicrobials and anti-biofilm technologies find applications in Unilever's formulations, packaging, and processing either as performance actives or preservatives. At the core of Unilever's business, home and personal care liquid formulations (e.g. Surf, Domestos, Dove) aim at improving surface hygiene and freshness through biostatic and anti-biofilm actives. In refreshment and food categories there is a continuous ambition to improve the integrity and lifespan of products with biofilm-ready product processing and packaging technologies. Current microbial control ingredients are receiving increased safety, regulatory and NGO pressure due to their petrochemical profile. The anti-biofilm potential of a library of over 600 chemicals (called furanone derived lactam analogues) have been assessed that are derived from Delisea pulchra, a marine algae that typically is devoid of bacterial biofilm growth. Some variants have been shown to disrupt quorum sensing (cell-cell signalling) during biofilm growth and maturation, without inducing microbial adaptation. It has been demonstrated that lactam analogues jam quorum sensing, acting as antagonists of signal molecule receptors on gram negative bacteria. From the moment free floating cells start adsorbing reversibly on surfaces, cell-cell crosstalk is initiated that controls events from the early reversible adsorption, anchorage, aggregation and colonisation of the surface to secretion of EPS, virulence and dispersal of the biofilm. To-date it is not fully understood which stage(s) of the process are affected by the lactam analogues. In order to progress the anti-biofilm lactam analogue treatment to market, and obtain the requisite regulatory approval, it is essential that the role of biological and physical processes is clarified. This project aims to visualise in real-time phenotypic changes to non-planktonic bacteria induced by Unilever's lead lactam analogue. In particular, it will explore the full spectrum of activity of the treatment on early stage biofilm development by visualisation and modelling in 3D, exploring the very earliest stages of non-planktonic cell-surface association to lasting impact on mature biofilm structure and functionality. It will employ unique state-of-the-art holographic and imaging techniques developed by the research investigators at the University of York to measure microscopic 3D flow fields together with quorum sensing activity and, in tandem, will construct a mechanistic mathematical description of the interaction of biological and physical processes. These approaches will aim to identify the limiting factor(s) of lactam analogue biofilm inhibition and inform the design of next generation anti-biofilm technologies.