Development of an analytical method to quantify N-acyl-homoserine lactones in bacterial cultures, river water, and treated wastewater.

N-Acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL) play a major role in the communication of Gram-negative bacteria. They influence processes such as biofilm formation, swarming motility, and bioluminescence in the aquatic environment. A comprehensive analytical method was developed to elucidate the "chemical communication" in pure bacterial cultures as well as in the aquatic environment and engineered environments with biofilms.

Communication Breakdown: Into the Molecular Mechanism of Biofilm Inhibition by CeO Nanocrystal Enzyme Mimics and How It Can Be Exploited.

Bacterial biofilm formation is a huge problem in industry and medicine. Therefore, the discovery of anti-biofilm agents may hold great promise. Biofilm formation is usually a consequence of bacterial cell-cell communication, a process called quorum sensing (QS).

High-throughput synthesis of CeO nanoparticles for transparent nanocomposites repelling Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Preventing bacteria from adhering to material surfaces is an important technical problem and a major cause of infection. One of nature's defense strategies against bacterial colonization is based on the biohalogenation of signal substances that interfere with bacterial communication. Biohalogenation is catalyzed by haloperoxidases, a class of metal-dependent enzymes whose activity can be mimicked by ceria nanoparticles.

Defect-controlled halogenating properties of lanthanide-doped ceria nanozymes.

Marine organisms combat bacterial colonization by biohalogenation of signaling compounds that interfere with bacterial communication. These reactions are catalyzed by haloperoxidase enzymes, whose activity can be emulated by nanoceria using milli- and micromolar concentrations of Br and HO. We show that the haloperoxidase-like activity of nanoceria can greatly be enhanced by Ln substitution in CeLnO.

Transparent polycarbonate coated with CeO nanozymes repel PA14 biofilms.

Highly transparent CeO/polycarbonate surfaces were fabricated that prevent adhesion, proliferation, and the spread of bacteria. CeO nanoparticles with diameters of 10-15 nm and lengths of 100-200 nm for this application were prepared by oxidizing aqueous dispersions of Ce(OH) with HO in the presence of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) as the capping agent. The surface-functionalized water-dispersible CeO nanorods showed high catalytic activity in the halogenation reactions, which makes them highly efficient functional mimics of haloperoxidases.