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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2007, p. 4300-4307, Vol. 73, No. 13
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02633-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Inhibition of Escherichia coli Biofilm Formation by Self-Assembled Monolayers of Functional Alkanethiols on Gold{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Shuyu Hou,1 Erik A. Burton,2 Karen A. Simon,2 Dustin Blodgett,1 Yan-Yeung Luk,2* and Dacheng Ren1*

Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244,1 Department of Chemistry, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 132442

Received 10 January 2007/ Accepted 14 April 2007

Bacterial biofilms cause serious problems, such as antibiotic resistance and medical device-related infections. To further understand bacterium-surface interactions and to develop efficient control strategies, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols presenting different functional groups on gold films were analyzed to determine their resistance to biofilm formation. Escherichia coli was labeled with green florescence protein, and its biofilm formation on SAM-modified surfaces was monitored by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The three-dimensional structures of biofilms were analyzed with the COMSTAT software to obtain information about biofilm thickness and surface coverage. SAMs presenting methyl, L-gulonamide (a sugar alcohol tethered with an amide bond), and tri(ethylene glycol) (TEG) groups were tested. Among these, the TEG-terminated SAM was the most resistant to E. coli biofilm formation; e.g., it repressed biofilm formation by E. coli DH5{alpha} by 99.5% ± 0.1% for 1 day compared to the biofilm formation on a bare gold surface. When surfaces were patterned with regions consisting of methyl-terminated SAMs surrounded by TEG-terminated SAMs, E. coli formed biofilms only on methyl-terminated patterns. Addition of TEG as a free molecule to growth medium at concentrations of 0.1 and 1.0% also inhibited biofilm formation, while TEG at concentrations up to 1.5% did not have any noticeable effects on cell growth. The results of this study suggest that the reduction in biofilm formation on surfaces modified with TEG-terminated SAMs is a result of multiple factors, including the solvent structure at the interface, the chemorepellent nature of TEG, and the inhibitory effect of TEG on cell motility.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address for Dacheng Ren: Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244. Phone: (315) 443-4409. Fax: (315) 443-9175. E-mail: dren{at}syr.edu. Mailing address for Yan-Yeung Luk: Department of Chemistry, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244. Phone: (315) 443-7440. Fax: (315) 443-4070. E-mail: yluk{at}syr.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 4 May 2007.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2007, p. 4300-4307, Vol. 73, No. 13
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02633-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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