Electrogenicity of microbial biofilms of medically relevant microorganisms: potentiometric, amperometric and wireless detection.

Since the progression of biofilm formation is related to the success of infection treatment, detecting microbial biofilms is of great interest. Biofilms of Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus gordonii bacteria, Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli bacteria, and Candida albicans yeast were examined using potentiometric, amperometric, and wireless readout modes in this study. As a biofilm formed, the open circuit potential (OCP) of biofilm hosting electrode (bioanode) became increasingly negative. Depending on the microorganism, the OCP ranged from -70 to -250 mV. The co-culture generated the most negative OCP (-300 mV vs Ag/AgCl), while the single-species biofilm formed by E. coli developed the least negative (-70 mV). The OCP of a fungal biofilm formed by C. albicans was -100 mV. The difference in electrode currents generated by biofilms was more pronounced. The current density of the S. aureus biofilm was 0.9‧10-7 A cm-2, while the value of the P. aeruginosa biofilm was 1.3‧10-6 A cm-2. Importantly, a biofilm formed by a co-culture of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa had a slightly higher negative OCP value and current density than the most electrogenic P. aeruginosa single-species biofilm. We present evidence that bacteria can share redox mediators found in multi-species biofilms. This synergy, enabling higher current and OCP values of multi-species biofilm hosting electrodes, could be beneficial for electrochemical detection of infectious biofilms in clinics. We demonstrate that the electrogenic biofilm can provide basis to construct novel wireless, chip-free, and battery-free biofilm detection method.

Improving NonViral Gene Delivery Using MHz Bursts of Nanosecond Pulses and Gold Nanoparticles for Electric Field Amplification.

Gene delivery by the pulsed electric field is a promising alternative technology for nonviral transfection; however, the application of short pulses (i.e., nanosecond) is extremely limited. In this work, we aimed to show the capability to improve gene delivery using MHz frequency bursts of nanosecond pulses and characterize the potential use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs: 9, 13, 14, and 22 nm) in this context. We have used bursts of MHz pulses 3/5/7 kV/cm × 300 ns × 100 and compared the efficacy of the parametric protocols to conventional microsecond protocols (100 µs × 8, 1 Hz) separately and in combination with nanoparticles. Furthermore, the effects of pulses and AuNPs on the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were analyzed. It was shown that gene delivery using microsecond protocols could be significantly improved with AuNPs; however, the efficacy is strongly dependent on the surface charge of AuNPs and their size. The capability of local field amplification using AuNPs was also confirmed by finite element method simulation. Finally, it was shown that AuNPs are not effective with nanosecond protocols. However, MHz protocols are still competitive in the context of gene delivery, resulting in low ROS generation, preserved viability, and easier procedure to trigger comparable efficacy.

Antimicrobial particles based on Cu2ZnSnS4 monograins.

In this research, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) particles were successfully fabricated via the molten salt approach from the copper, zinc and tin sulphides as raw precursors. SEM analysis revealed that CZTS particles are tetragonal-shaped with sharp edges, smooth flat plane morphology, and crystal size varying from 10.8 to 28.7 µm. The phase and crystalline structure of synthesized powders were investigated using XRD analysis, which confirms the presence of a tetragonal crystal structure kesterite phase. The chemical composition of CZTS particles was evaluated by EDX spectroscopy, which identified the nearly stoichiometric composition with an averaged formula of Cu1.88Zn1.04SnS3.97. The TG/DTA-MS and ICP-OES analysis showed the possible decomposition pathways and predicted their degradation rate in aqueous solutions. The CZTS particles possessed highly effective concentration and time-dependent antimicrobial properties against medically relevant bacteria and yeast strains. The CZTS particles (1 g L-1) exhibited over 95.7 ± 1.9% killing efficiency towards M. luteus. In contrast, higher dosages (3.5 and 5 g L-1) led to its complete inactivation and reduced the P. aeruginosa cell viability to 43.2 ± 3.2% and 4.1 ± 1.1%, respectively. Moreover, the CZTS particles (0.5 g L-1) are responsible for causing 54.8 ± 1.8% of C. krusei and 89.7 ± 2.1% of C. parapsilosis yeasts death within the 24 h of exposure, which expanded to almost 100% when yeasts were treated with two times higher CZTS concentration (1.0 g L-1). The mechanism of action has been proposed and evidenced by monitoring the 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence, which revealed that the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is responsible for microorganism death.

Glucose-to-Resistor Transduction Integrated into a Radio-Frequency Antenna for Chip-less and Battery-less Wireless Sensing.

To maximize the potential of 5G infrastructure in healthcare, simple integration of biosensors with wireless tag antennas would be beneficial. This work introduces novel glucose-to-resistor transduction, which enables simple, wireless biosensor design. The biosensor was realized on a near-field communication tag antenna, where a sensing bioanode generated electrical current and electroreduced a nonconducting antenna material into an excellent conductor. For this, a part of the antenna was replaced by a Ag nanoparticle layer oxidized to high-resistance AgCl. The bioanode was based on Au nanoparticle-wired glucose dehydrogenase (GDH). The exposure of the cathode-bioanode to glucose solution resulted in GDH-catalyzed oxidation of glucose at the bioanode with a concomitant reduction of AgCl to highly conducting Ag on the cathode. The AgCl-to-Ag conversion strongly affected the impedance of the antenna circuit, allowing wireless detection of glucose. Mimicking the final application, the proposed wireless biosensor was ultimately evaluated through the measurement of glucose in whole blood, showing good agreement with the values obtained with a commercially available glucometer. This work, for the first time, demonstrates that making a part of the antenna from the AgCl layer allows achieving simple, chip-less, and battery-less wireless sensing of enzyme-catalyzed reduction reaction.

Microbial Fuel Cell Based on Nitrogen-Fixing Rhizobium anhuiense Bacteria.

In this study, the nitrogen-fixing, Gram-negative soil bacteria Rhizobium anhuiense was successfully utilized as the main biocatalyst in a bacteria-based microbial fuel cell (MFC) device. This research investigates the double-chambered, H-type R. anhuiense-based MFC that was operated in modified Norris medium (pH = 7) under ambient conditions using potassium ferricyanide as an electron acceptor in the cathodic compartment. The designed MFC exhibited an open-circuit voltage (OCV) of 635 mV and a power output of 1.07 mW m-2 with its maximum power registered at 245 mV. These values were further enhanced by re-feeding the anode bath with 25 mM glucose, which has been utilized herein as the main carbon source. This substrate addition led to better performance of the constructed MFC with a power output of 2.59 mW m-2 estimated at an operating voltage of 281 mV. The R. anhuiense-based MFC was further developed by improving the charge transfer through the bacterial cell membrane by applying 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (menadione, MD) as a soluble redox mediator. The MD-mediated MFC device showed better performance, resulting in a slightly higher OCV value of 683 mV and an almost five-fold increase in power density to 4.93 mW cm-2. The influence of different concentrations of MD on the viability of R. anhuiense bacteria was investigated by estimating the optical density at 600 nm (OD600) and comparing the obtained results with the control aliquot. The results show that lower concentrations of MD, ranging from 1 to 10 µM, can be successfully used in an anode compartment in which R. anhuiense bacteria cells remain viable and act as a main biocatalyst for MFC applications.

Assessment of Rhizobium anhuiense Bacteria as a Potential Biocatalyst for Microbial Biofuel Cell Design.

The development of microbial fuel cells based on electro-catalytic processes is among the novel topics, which are recently emerging in the sustainable development of energetic systems. Microbial fuel cells have emerged as unique biocatalytic systems, which transform the chemical energy accumulated in renewable organic fuels and at the same time reduce pollution from hazardous organic compounds. However, not all microorganisms involved in metabolic/catalytic processes generate sufficient redox potential. In this research, we have assessed the applicability of the microorganism Rhizobium anhuiense as a catalyst suitable for the design of microbial fuel cells. To improve the charge transfer, several redox mediators were tested, namely menadione, riboflavin, and 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ). The best performance was determined for a Rhizobium anhuiense-based bio-anode mediated by menadione with a 0.385 mV open circuit potential and 5.5 µW/cm2 maximal power density at 0.35 mV, which generated 50 µA/cm2 anode current at the same potential.

Highly efficient antimicrobial agents based on sulfur-enriched, hydrophilic molybdenum disulfide nano/microparticles and coatings functionalized with palladium nanoparticles.

In this research the molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)-based nano/microparticles and coatings were synthesized through a simple, one-step hydrothermal approach without any other additives. Composition, structure, and morphology of the synthesized MoS2-based materials were investigated using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques. The fabricated materials exhibited relatively small (Δθ = 18.7 ± 2.5°) contact angle and prominent hydrophilic properties, which are attributable to sulfur-enriched MoS2 composite as evidenced by simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) coupled with mass spectrometric (MS) analysis of evolving gaseous species (TG/DTA-MS) analysis. Such nanostructures exhibit a better adhesion of biomolecules, thus facilitating the interaction between them, as confirmed by highly effective antimicrobial action. The present study examines antimicrobial properties of hydrophilic, sulfur-enriched MoS2 nano/microparticles as well as MoS2-based coatings against various humans' pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella enterica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Micrococcus luteus, and two Candida yeast strains (C. parapsilosis, C. krusei). The MoS2-ns (40 µg mL-1) showed over 90% killing efficiency against S. aureus MRSA bacteria and both Candida yeast when exposed for 24 h. Petal-like MoS2 microstructures and heterostructured MoS2/Ti and Pd/MoS2/Ti coatings also possessed high antimicrobial potential and are considered as a promising antimicrobial agent. The MoS2-induced production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was evidenced by measuring the standard DCF dye fluorescence.

Ultra-small methionine-capped Au0/Au+ nanoparticles as efficient drug against the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In this study we examined the influence of ultra-small gold and magnetite­gold nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized with d,l-methionine, Fe3O4@Au@Met, on their antibacterial efficacy against three of twelve the worst bacterial family members included in the World Health Organization (WHO) list. In particular, gram-negative Acinetobacter baumannii, Salmonella enterica and gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus were tested. Apart from the synthesis, gold species reduction and NP stabilization, an excess of methionine has been used herein to detach ultra-small gold NPs from the Fe3O4@Au@Met surface, collect them and investigate. The antimicrobial efficiency of the ultra-small (Ø ~ 1.8 nm) Au@Met NPs and Fe3O4@Au@Met NPs was evaluated through the quantitative analysis by comparing with that of naked magnetite NPs, d,l-Met and BSA. It has been determined that compared with the control sample, 70 mg L-1 probe of Au@Met NPs exhibited the killing efficiency of 84.4-58.5% against gram-negative bacteria and 89.1-75.7% against gram-positive bacteria. The composition, structure, and morphology of the synthesized and tested herein NPs were investigated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, magnetic measurements, FTIR, XRD, XPS, AFM and HRTEM.

Laser Light Induced Transformation of Molybdenum Disulphide-Based Nanoplatelet Arrays.

One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of MoS2 nanoplatelet arrays on various substrates is perhaps the most promising approach to fabricate efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction. However, the main challenges in this synthesis remain the purity and crystallinity of MoS2. In this study, we show for the first time that irradiation of amorphous, defect-rich MoS2 nanoplatelets with a green nanosecond laser at a proper irradiation dose, ca ≤0.35 J cm-2, can significantly improve the crystallinity and purity of MoS2 nanoplatelets. The effect was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy investigations demonstrating a surprising intensity increase of the A1g and modes after the laser irradiation. Further increase of irradiation energy, however, resulted in the photocorrosion and destruction of MoS2 nanoplatelets. The variation of A1g and Raman mode intensities ratio depending on the green light irradiation dose was also presented and is discussed below.