Synergy Pattern of Short Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides Against Multidrug-Resistant .

With the rise of various multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogenic bacteria, worldwide health care is under pressure to respond. Conventional antibiotics are failing and the development of novel classes and alternative strategies is a major priority. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) cannot only kill MDR bacteria, but also can be used synergistically with conventional antibiotics.

Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation coupled to on-chip MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry as a tool for characterising proteinaceous conditioning films on functionalised surfaces.

Proteinaceous conditioning films (pCFs) are thought to play a key role in microbial adhesion, leading to the fouling of technical and biomedical devices and biofilm formation, which in turn causes material damage or persistent infections, respectively. However, little is definitively known about the process of surface conditioning via proteins. Herein, we demonstrate the potential of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation coupled to MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry (QCM-D-MALDI) to investigate protein adsorption on different surfaces, enabling both the monitoring of CF formation and the determination of the molecular composition of CFs.

Hydrophobic liquid-infused porous polymer surfaces for antibacterial applications.

Biofilms represent a fundamental problem in environmental biology, water technology, food hygiene as well as in medical and technical systems. Recently introduced slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) showed great promise for preventing biofilm formation owing to the low surface energy of such surface in combination with its self-cleaning properties. In this study we demonstrated a novel hydrophobic liquid-infused porous poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) surface (slippery BMA-EDMA) with bacteria-resistance in BM2 mineral medium and long-term stability in aqueous environments.

The impact of recombinant fusion-hydrophobin coated surfaces on E. coli and natural mixed culture biofilm formation.

The impact of increased surface hydrophobicity on biofilms regarding retardation, repulsion, or attraction was studied with hydrophobin modified glass substrata. Recombinantly produced fungal hydrophobins forming self-assembled monolayers were used as the surface coating. The adsorption dynamics of hydrophobins were analysed with a quartz crystal microbalance which showed the surface coating to be rapid and stable.

Malonyl-coenzyme A reductase in the modified 3-hydroxypropionate cycle for autotrophic carbon fixation in archaeal Metallosphaera and Sulfolobus spp.

Autotrophic members of the Sulfolobales (Crenarchaeota) contain acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA)/propionyl-CoA carboxylase as the CO2 fixation enzyme and use a modified 3-hydroxypropionate cycle to assimilate CO2 into cell material. In this central metabolic pathway malonyl-CoA, the product of acetyl-CoA carboxylation, is further reduced to 3-hydroxypropionate. Extracts of Metallosphaera sedula contained NADPH-specific malonyl-CoA reductase activity that was 10-fold up-regulated under autotrophic growth conditions.