Magnetically Controlled Carbonate Nanocomposite with Ciprofloxacin for Biofilm Eradication

Biofilms are the reason for a vast majority of chronic inflammation cases and most acute inflammation. The treatment of biofilms still is a complicated task due to the low efficiency of drug delivery and high resistivity of the involved bacteria to harmful factors. Here we describe a magnetically controlled nanocomposite with a stimuli-responsive release profile based on calcium carbonate and magnetite with an encapsulated antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) that can be used to solve this problem. The material magnetic properties allowed targeted delivery, accumulation, and penetration of the composite in the biofilm, as well as the rapid triggered release of the entrapped antibiotic. Under the influence of an RF magnetic field with a frequency of 210 kHz, the composite underwent a phase transition from vaterite into calcite and promoted the release of ciprofloxacin. The effectiveness of the composite was tested against formed biofilms of E. coli and S. aureus and showed a 71% reduction in E. coli biofilm biomass and an 85% reduction in S. aureus biofilms. The efficiency of the composite with entrapped ciprofloxacin was higher than for the free antibiotic in the same concentration, up to 72%. The developed composite is a promising material for the treatment of biofilm-associated inflammations.     

Removal of sulfamethoxazole from waters and wastewaters by conductive‐diamond electrochemical oxidation

BACKGROUND: Sulfamethoxazole (SMX, used as a model bacteriostatic antibiotic) is persistent to conventional biological treatments of wastewaters. In this work, conductive‐diamond electrochemical oxidation (CDEO) was found to be an effective technology for its removal from the effluents of conventional wastewater treatment plants. RESULTS: The use of CDEO has been evaluated for the removal of the antibiotic SMX from water and wastewaters. The results show that CDEO can reduce the concentration of this organic pollutant to values below 0.1 µg dm^?3. The variation of the SMX concentration during electrolysis shows a complex shape with a plateau zone that increases in size with the initial concentration of SMX. This complex trend is not observed in the changes of TOC, which seems to indicate that the CDEO of SMX solutions does not lead directly to the generation of carbon dioxide as a final product. A tentative reaction pathway has been proposed based on a thorough analysis of the reaction mixture, in which the main intermediate products were identified. The use of liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐TOFMS) allowed the identification of nine organic intermediates (with M_w 98, 108, 172, 173, 197, 203, 227, 269 and 287) during the electrolysis and the concentration of these compounds depends on the initial SMX concentration and on the current density applied. CONCLUSIONS: CDEO is able to reduce the concentration of the organic pollutant below 0.1 mg dm^?3. SMX removal is faster than that of TOC. This fact indicates the formation of reaction intermediates. Analytical techniques show that nine reaction intermediates are generated in the system, and that their concentration depends on the initial SMX concentration and on the current density used. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Selective Capture and Identification of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Combining Aptamer-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles and Mass Spectrometry

A nucleic acid aptamer that specifically recognizes methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles to capture the target bacteria prior to mass spectrometry analysis. After the MRSA species were captured, they were further eluted from the nanoparticles and identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). The combination of aptamer-based capture/enrichment and MS analysis of microorganisms took advantage of the selectivity of both techniques and should enhance the accuracy of MRSA identification. The capture and elution efficiencies for MRSA were optimized by examining factors such as incubation time, temperature, and elution solvents. The aptamer-modified magnetic nanoparticles showed a capture rate of more than 90% under the optimized condition, whereas the capture rates were less than 11% for non-target bacteria. The as-prepared nanoparticles exhibited only a 5% decrease in the capture rate and a 9% decrease in the elution rate after 10 successive cycles of utilization. Most importantly, the aptamer-modified nanoparticles revealed an excellent selectivity towards MRSA in bacterial mixtures. The capture of MRSA at a concentration of 10² CFU/mL remained at a good percentage of 82% even when the other two species were at 10⁴ times higher concentration (10⁶ CFU/mL). Further, the eluted MRSA bacteria were successfully identified using MALDI mass spectrometry.     

Heavy Metal Induced Antibiotic Resistance in Bacterium LSJC7

Co-contamination of antibiotics and heavy metals prevails in the environment, and may play an important role in disseminating bacterial antibiotic resistance, but the selective effects of heavy metals on bacterial antibiotic resistance is largely unclear. To investigate this, the effects of heavy metals on antibiotic resistance were studied in a genome-sequenced bacterium, LSJC7. The results showed that the presence of arsenate, copper, and zinc were implicated in fortifying the resistance of LSJC7 towards tetracycline. The concentrations of heavy metals required to induce antibiotic resistance, i.e., the minimum heavy metal concentrations (MHCs), were far below (up to 64-fold) the minimum inhibition concentrations (MIC) of LSJC7. This finding indicates that the relatively low heavy metal levels in polluted environments and in treated humans and animals might be sufficient to induce bacterial antibiotic resistance. In addition, heavy metal induced antibiotic resistance was also observed for a combination of arsenate and chloramphenicol in LSJC7, and copper/zinc and tetracycline in antibiotic susceptible strain Escherichia coli DH5α. Overall, this study implies that heavy metal induced antibiotic resistance might be ubiquitous among various microbial species and suggests that it might play a role in the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in metal and antibiotic co-contaminated environments.     

Nisin抗菌作用机制及抑菌效力

Nisin是一种由乳酸乳球菌核糖体上合成的并经过一系列酶学修饰的以含有羊毛硫氨酸和β-甲基羊毛硫氨酸等稀有氨基酸为特征的抗菌肽,Nisin作用目标为细胞膜,Nisin与细胞膜通过结合,插入和孔道形成等多步过程形成孔道复合物,从而引起细胞液渗漏。孔道的形成有“桶板”和“楔入”两种孔道模型。Nisin能够抑杀许多引起食品腐败的革兰阳性菌,Nisin的抑菌效率取决于其分子结构,受目标控制菌及其系统性质的影响,如Nisin抗性、膜干扰剂、亚致死伤害、阳离子、温度、pH、蛋白水解酶和其它防腐剂。     

北京市食源性非伤寒沙门菌的分子分型和耐药性研究

目的了解北京市食源性非伤寒沙门菌的分子特征及耐药情况。方法对2004—2010年北京市食源性致病菌监测网收集的100株沙门菌进行脉冲场凝胶电泳(PFGE)分型和抗生素敏感性检测。结果 100株非伤寒沙门菌通过PFGE分型分为62个不同的带型,每个带型包含1~11株菌。抗生素敏感性结果显示,100株菌中有55株菌表现为对至少1种抗生素耐药,其中多重耐药菌株15株。菌株对各抗生素的耐药率为萘啶酸40%、四环素30%、氯霉素15%、庆大霉素10%、甲氧苄啶/磺胺甲恶唑10%、环丙沙星9%、头孢西丁1%、头孢噻肟0%。结论沙门菌PFGE带型和耐药谱均与血清型存在很高的一致性。提示北京市食源性非伤寒沙门菌的耐药情况比较严重,开展对该菌分子分型与耐药特征分析的联合监测意义重大。     

纳豆的保健功效

纳豆(Natto)是具有丰富营养的大豆发酵食品,其保健功效与人类的健康有着密切的关系。对纳豆在溶栓、预防骨质疏松、防癌、抗菌等方面保健作用进行系统地阐述。     

抗菌技术及其在造纸行业中的应用

该文介绍了抗菌剂的分类、各种抗菌剂的特点和抗菌机理,叙述了抗菌技术在造纸中的应用。     

Changes of antibiotic resistance genes and gut microbiota after the ingestion of goat milk

Antibiotic resistance genes, as newly emerging contaminants, have become a serious challenge to public health through the food chain. The gut of humans and animals is an important reservoir for the development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes because of the great abundance and diversity of intestinal microbiota. In the present study, we evaluated the influence of goat milk on the diversity and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and gut microbial communities, especially pathogenic bacteria. Male mice were used, 12 for each of the 2 groups: a control group that received sterile distilled water and a treated group that received goat milk, and gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance genes were compared in these groups using metagenomic analysis. The results revealed that ingestion of goat milk decreased the diversity and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in the mice gut. The relative abundance of fluoroquinolone, peptide, macrolide, and β-lactam resistance genes in the total microbial genes significantly decreased after the intervention. Goat milk intake also significantly reduced the abundance of pathogenic bacteria, such as Clostridium bolteae, Clostridium symbiosum, Helicobacter cinaedi, and Helicobacter bilis. Therefore, goat milk intake might decrease the transfer potential of antibiotic resistance gene to pathogenic bacteria in the gut. In addition, bacteria with multiple resistance mechanisms accounted for approximately 4.5% of total microbial communities in the control group, whereas it was not detectable in the goat milk group, indicating the total inhibition by goat milk intake. This study highlights the influence of goat milk on antibiotic resistome and microbial communities in the gut, and provides a new insight into the function of goat milk for further study.     

Separation of Mupirocin by Normal Phase Liquid Chromatography (NPLC)

Mupirocin is an antibiotic from Pseudomonas fluorescens used topically against Staphylococci infections. There are many patented strategies which are proposed for separation of the antibiotic from the fermentation broth comprising of liquid-liquid extraction and hydrophobic chromatography. The paper demonstrates the use of native silica, as used in flash chromatography, as adsorbent for normal phase liquid chromatography of mupirocin. Mobile phase for elution was acidified n-hexane: ethyl acetate (10/90 v/v). The method achieved a yield of 66% relative to the mupirocin source and a concentration factor of 13. Anti-microbial assays, high performance liquid chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been used to confirm the identity of the antibiotic after chromatographic separation. An alternative route to isolation of mupirocin using the polar sorbent has been suggested.