Surfactants: physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules.

Macromolecules are essential cellular components in biological systems responsible for performing a large number of functions that are necessary for growth and perseverance of living organisms. Proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are three major classes of biological macromolecules. To predict the structure, function, and behaviour of any cluster of macromolecules, it is necessary to understand the interaction between them and other components through basic principles of chemistry and physics. An important number of macromolecules are present in mixtures with surfactants, where a combination of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions is responsible for the specific properties of any solution. It has been demonstrated that surfactants can help the formation of helices in some proteins thereby promoting protein structure formation. On the other hand, there is extensive research towards the use of surfactants to solubilize drugs and pharmaceuticals; therefore, it is evident that the interaction between surfactants with macromolecules is important for many applications which includes environmental processes and the pharmaceutical industry. In this review, we describe the properties of different types of surfactants that are relevant for their physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules, from macromolecules-surfactant complexes to hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.

The effect of sophorolipids against microbial biofilms on medical-grade silicone.

Recent medical strategies rely on the search for effective antimicrobials as surface coatings to prevent and treat infections in humans and animals. Biosurfactants have recently been shown to have properties as antiadhesive and antibiofilm agents. Sophorolipids in particular are biosurfactant molecules known to act as therapeutic agents. This study aimed to evaluate antimicrobial properties of sophorolipids in medical-grade silicone discs using strains of clinical relevance. Sophorolipids were produced under fed batch conditions, ESI-MS analyses were carried out to confirm the congeners present in each formulation. Three different products were obtained SLA (acidic congeners), SL18 (lactonic congeners) and SLV (mixture of acidic and lactonic congeners) and were tested against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145 and Candida albicans IHEM 2894. All three congener mixtures showed a biofilms disruption effect (> 0.1 % w/v) of 70 %, 75 % and 80 % for S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans, respectively. On pre-coated silicone discs, biofilm formation of S. aureus was reduced by 75 % using SLA 0.8 % w/v. After 1.5 h the inhibition of C. albicans attachment was between 45-56 % whilst after 24 h incubation the percentage of inhibition for the cell attachment increased to 68-70 % when using SLA 0.8 % w/v. Finally, in co-incubation experiments SLA 0.05 % w/v significantly reduced the ability of S. aureus and C. albicans to form biofilms and to adhere to surfaces by 90-95 % at concentrations between 0.025-0.1 % w/v. In conclusion sophorolipids significantly reduced the cell attachment of both tested strains which suggests that these molecules could have a potential role as coating agents on medical grade silicone devices for the preventions of Gram positive bacteria and yeast infections.

Effect of biosurfactants on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus biofilms in a BioFlux channel.

Recent studies have indicated that biosurfactants play a role both in maintaining channels between multicellular structures in biofilms and in dispersal of cells from biofilms. A combination of caprylic acid (0.01 % v/v) together with rhamnolipids (0.04 % v/v) was applied to biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 9144 and a mixed culture under BioFlux flowthrough conditions and caused disruption of the biofilms. The biofilms were also treated with a combination of rhamnolipids (0.04 % v/v) and sophorolipids (0.01 %). Control treatments with PBS 1× had no apparent effect on biofilm disruption. The Gram-positive bacterium (S. aureus ATCC 9144) was more sensitive than P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442 in terms of disruption and viability as shown by Live/Dead staining. Disruption of biofilms of P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442 was minimal. Oxygen consumption by biofilms, after different treatments with biosurfactants, confirms that sophorolipid on its own is unable to kill/inhibit cells of P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442, and even when used in combination with rhamnolipids, under static conditions, no decrease in the cell viability was observed. Cells in biofilms exposed to mono-rhamnolipids (0.04 % v/v) showed behaviour typical of exposure to bacteriostatic compounds, but when exposed to di-rhamnolipids (0.04 % v/v), they displayed a pattern characteristic of bactericidal compounds.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm disruption using microbial surfactants.

AIMS: To establish the ability of the rhamnolipids biosurfactants from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in the presence and absence of caprylic acid and ascorbic acid, to disrupt bacterial biofilms, compared with the anionic alkyl sulphate surfactant Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 biofilms were disrupted by rhamnolipids at concentrations between 0·5 and 0·4 g l(-1) and with SDS at 0·8 g l(-1) . The combination of rhamnolipids 0·4 g l(-1) and caprylic acid at 0·1 g l(-1) showed a remarkable effect on biofilm disruption and cell killing. After 30 min of treatment most of the biofilm was disrupted and cell viability was significantly reduced. Neither caprylic acid nor ascorbic acid has any effect on biofilm disruption at 0·1 g l(-1) . SDS is an effective antimicrobial agent; however, in the presence of caprylic acid its effect was neutralized. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that rhamnolipids at low concentration in the presence of caprylic acid are promising molecules for inhibition/disruption of biofilms formed by Ps. aeruginosa ATCC 15442. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The disruption of biofilms has major significance in many industrial and domestic cleaning applications and in medical situations.