Chromatography of microbial cells using continuous supermacroporous affinity and ion-exchange columns

Continuous supermacroporous chromatographic columns with anion-exchange ligands [2-(dimethylamino)ethyl group] and immobilized metal affinity (IMA) ligands (Cu2+-loaded iminodiacetic acid) have been developed allowing binding of Escherichia coli cells and the elution of bound cells with high recoveries. These poly(acrylamide)-based continuous supermacroporous columns have been produced by radical co-polymerization of monomers in aqueous solution frozen inside a column (cryo-polymerization). After thawing, the column contains a continuous matrix (so-called cryogel) with interconnected pores of 10-100 microm in size. The large pore size of the matrix makes it possible for E. coli cells to pass unhindered through a plain column containing no ligands. E. coli cells bound to an ion-exchange column at low ionic strength were eluted with 70-80% recovery at NaCl concentrations of 0.35-0.40 M, while cells bound to an IMA-column were eluted with around 80% recovery using either 10 mM imidazole or 20 mM EDTA solutions, respectively. The cells maintain their viability after the binding/elution procedure. These preliminary results indicate that microbial cells can be handled in a chromatographic mode using supermacroporous continuous columns. These columns are easy to manufacture from cheap and readily available starting materials, which make the columns suitable for single-time use.     

Adaptation to UVA radiation of E. coli growing in continuous culture

Adaptive responses of bacteria to physical or chemical stresses in the laboratory or in the environment are of great interest. Here we investigated the ability of Escherichia coli growing in continuous culture to adapt to UVA radiation. It was shown that E. coli indeed expressed an adaptive response to UVA irradiation at an intensity of 50W/m(2). Cells grown in continuous culture with complex medium (diluted Luria Bertani broth) at dilution rates of 0.7h(-1), 0.5h(-1) and 0.3h(-1) were able to maintain growth under UVA irradiation after a transient reduction of specific growth rate and recovery. In contrast, slow-growing cells (D=0.05h(-1)) were unable to induce enough protection capacity to maintain growth under UVA irradiation. We propose that faster growing E. coli cells have a higher adaptive flexibility to UVA light-stress than slow-growing cells. Furthermore it was shown with flow cytometry and viability stains that at a dilution rate of 0.3h(-1) only a small fraction (1%) of the initial cell population survived UVA light-stress. Adapted cells were significantly larger (30%) than unstressed cells and had a lower growth yield. Furthermore, efflux pump activity was diminished in adapted cells. In a second irradiation period (after omitting UVA irradiation for 70h) adapted cells were able to trigger the adaptive response twice as fast. Additionally, this study shows that continuous cultivation with direct stress application allows reproducible investigation of the physiological and possibly also molecular mechanisms during adaptation of E. coli populations to UVA light.     

Critical factors for reproducible capillary electrophoresis of Escherichia coli cells

Sharp peaks of Escherichia coli JM 109 (up to 1 300 000 theoretical plates) were recorded with either extremely diluted (< 5 mM) or extremely concentrated (ca. 150 mM) Tris-borate (TB) running buffers. However, under the conditions of yielding sharp peaks, migration time of E. coli was irreproducible. Critial factors influencing reproducibility were found to include bacterial growth phase, storage condition, cell pretreatment before injection, and concentration of running buffer. Buffer concentrations in the range of 20-100 mM TB were essential for reproducibility. E. coli JM 109 was shown to be sensitive to ultrasonification. Bacterial growth and storage conditions could be monitored by CE, with results comparable to those obtained with optical methods.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic method to resolve and determine lipopolysaccharide sub-groups of Escherichia coli endotoxin in isolated perfused rat liver perfusate.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for resolving heterogeneous preparations of fluorescently labelled endotoxin derived from Escherichia coli (Serotype 0111:B4) into separate lipopolysaccharide sub-groups. The endotoxin was chromatographed on an analytical gel permeation column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile (20%, v/v) and 100 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.75). Four fluorescent peaks were resolved, representing sub-groups of markedly different molecular sizes. Three of the four sub-groups contained the core polysaccharide 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, confirming that they contained lipopolysaccharide. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled endotoxins derived from Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella minnesota chromatographed using the same system eluted with distinctly different patterns of peaks from each other and from E. coli. Extraction of E. coli FITC-endotoxin from a buffer solution using a phenol-diethyl ether method and subsequent chromatography allowed the determination of three of the four fluorescent sub-groups over the concentration range 1-15 micrograms/ml.     

Detection of E. coli using a microfluidics-based antibody biochip detection system

This work demonstrates the detection of E. coli using a 2-dimensional photosensor array biochip which is efficiently equipped with a microfluidics sample/reagent delivery system for on-chip monitoring of bioassays. The biochip features a 4 x 4 array of independently operating photodiodes that are integrated along with amplifiers, discriminators and logic circuitry on a single platform. The microfluidics system includes a single 0.4 mL reaction chamber which houses a sampling platform that selectively captures detection probes from a sample through the use of immobilized bioreceptors. The independently operating photodiodes allow simultaneous monitoring of multiple samples. In this study the sampling platform is a cellulosic membrane that is exposed to E. coli organisms and subsequently analyzed using a sandwich immunoassay involving a Cy5-labeled antibody probe. The combined effectiveness of the integrated circuit (IC) biochip and the immunoassay is evaluated for assays performed both by conventional laboratory means followed by detection with the IC biochip, and through the use of the microfluidics system for on-chip detection. Highlights of the studies show that the biochip has a linear dynamic range of three orders of magnitude observed for conventional assays, and can detect 20 E. coli organisms. Selective detection of E. coli in a complex medium, milk diluent, is also reported for both off-chip and on-chip assays.     

Cell transport via electromigration in polymer-based microfluidic devices

Electrokinetic transport of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) cells was evaluated in microfluidic devices fabricated in pristine and UV-modified poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC). Chip-to-chip reproducibility of the cell's apparent mobilities (micro(app)) varied slightly with a RSD of approximately 10%. The highest micro(app) for baker's yeast cells was observed in UV-modified PC with 0.5 mM PBS (pH = 7.4), and the lowest was measured in pristine PMMA with 20 mM PBS (pH = 7.4). Baker's yeast in all devices migrated toward the cathode because of their smaller electrophoretic mobility compared to the EOF. In 0.5 mM and 1 mM PBS, E. coli cells migrated toward the anode in all cases, opposite to the direction of the EOF due to their larger electrophoretic mobility. E. coli cells in 20 mM PBS migrated toward the cathode, which indicated that the electrophoretic mobility of E. coli cells decreased at higher ionic strengths. Observed differential migrations of E. coli and baker's yeast cells in appropriately prepared polymer microchips were used as the basis for selective introduction into microfluidic devices of only one type of cell. As a working model, experiments were performed with E. coli and RBCs (red blood cells). RBCs migrated toward the cathode in pristine PMMA with 1 mM and 20 mM PBS (pH = 7.4), opposite to the direction of the E. coli cells. By judicious choice of the buffer concentration in which the cell suspension was prepared and the polymer material, RBCs or E. coli cells were selectively introduced into the microdevice, which was monitored via laser backscatter signals.     

Double interdigitated array microelectrode-based impedance biosensor for detection of viable Escherichia coli O157:H7 in growth medium

Double interdigitated array microelectrodes (IAM)-based flow cell was developed for an impedance biosensor to detect viable Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells after enrichment in a growth medium. This study was aimed at the design of a simple flow cell with embedded IAM which does not require complex microfabrication techniques and can be used repeatedly with a simple assembly/disassembly step. The flow cell was also unique in having two IAM chips on both top and bottom surfaces of the flow cell, which enhances the sensitivity of the impedance measurement. E. coli O157:H7 cells were grown in a low conductivity yeast-peptone-lactose-TMAO (YPLT) medium outside the flow cell. After bacterial growth, impedance was measured inside the flow cell. Equivalent circuit analysis indicated that the impedance change caused by bacterial growth was due to double layer capacitance and bulk medium resistance. Both parameters were a function of ionic concentration in the medium, which increased during bacterial growth due to the conversion of weakly charged substances present in the medium into highly charged ions. The impedance biosensor successfully detected E. coli O157:H7 in a range from 8.0 to 8.2x10(8)CFUmL(-1) after an enrichment growth of 14.7 and 0.8h, respectively. A logarithmic linear relationship between detection time (T(D)) in h and initial cell concentration (N(0)) in CFUmL(-1) was T(D)=-1.73logN(0)+14.62, with R(2)=0.93. Double IAM-based flow cell was more sensitive than single IAM-based flow cell in the detection of E. coli O157:H7 with 37-61% more impedance change for the frequency from 10Hz to 1MHz. The double IAM-based flow cell can be used to design a simple impedance biosensor for the sensitive detection of bacterial growth and their metabolites.     

A capacitive sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymers and poly(p-aminobenzene sulfonic acid) film for detection of pazufloxacin mesilate

A novel capacitive sensor for pazufloxacin mesilate (pazufloxacin) determination was developed by electropolymerizing p-aminobenzene sulfonic (p-ABSA) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), which was synthesized through thermal radical copolymerization of metharylic acid (MAA) and ethyl-ene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) in the presence of pazufloxacin template molecules, on the gold electrode surface. Furthermore, 1-dedecanethiol was used to insulate the modified electrode. Alter-nating current (ac) impedance experiments were carried out with a Model IM6e to obtain the capaci-tance responses. Under the optimum conditions, the sensor showed linear capacitance response to pazufloxacin in the range of 5 ng·mL-1 to 5 μg·mL-1 with a relative standard deviation (RSD) 5.3% (n=7) and a detection limit of 1.8 ng·mL-1. The recoveries for different concentration levels of pazufloxacin samples varied from 94.0% to 102.0%. Electrochemical experiments indicated the capacitive sensor exhibited good sensitivity and selectivity and showed excellent parameters of regeneration and stabil-ity.     

Separation and determination of homologues of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates by nonaqueous capillary zone electrophoresis using alkylammonium salts in ethanol

The separation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) using negative polarity, and a buffer containing acetic acid and an alkylamine in nonaqueous ethanol, has been investigated. Several primary, secondary, and tertiary alkylamines with alkyl chains of different length were compared. The solutes travelled against the electroosmotic flow (EOF), and at the same time were braked by association with the alkylamine molecules or with the alkylammonium ions. The best resolution between adjacent LAS homologues (R approximately 2.1), partial isomer resolution in two peaks, and at the same time an excellent repeatability, was obtained with a small dipentylamine excess over the acetic acid. When the buffer concentration increased, resolution between the homologues increased slightly (R approximately 2.4), and a different isomer group was partially separated. A background electrolyte (BGE) containing 10 mM acetic acid and 20 mM dipentylamine to separate and quantify the homologues within 25 min is recommended. The isomer peak profile with up to three peaks can be estimated using this buffer and another one with 80 mM acetic acid and 90 mM dipentylamine. The former BGE was used to determine LAS in liquid and powder laundry detergents. The detection limit for the determination of total LAS in these products was 2.5 microg mL(-1), and the peak area and migration time interday repeatabilities were below 4.3 and 2.8%, respectively.     

Highly super capacitive electrodes made of graphene/poly(pyrrole)

We report on the development and characterization of high performance supercapacitor electrodes synthesized using electrophoretic deposition of graphene, upon which the poly(pyrrole)-layer was electropolymerised. The highly capacitive electrode had a specific capacitance of 1510 F g(-1), area capacitance of 151 mF cm(-2) and volume capacitance of 151 F cm(-3) at 10 mV s(-1).     

Purification of the glycoprotein glucose oxidase from Penicillium amagasakiense by high-performance liquid chromatography

Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) in combination with ion-exchange chromatography on a Mono Q column was used to purify glucose oxidase from Penicillium amagasakiense to homogeneity. Purification was performed with a mixed pH and salt gradient, with 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 8.5) as starting buffer (A) and 50 mM acetate buffer (pH 3.6) with 0.1 M NaCl as elution buffer (B). Elution conditions were optimized to permit the simultaneous purification and separation of the glucose oxidase isoforms. Three peaks, each consisting of 1-2 isoforms and exhibiting a homogeneous titration curve profile, were resolved with a very flat linear gradient of 5.0-5.1% B in 40 ml. Three more peaks, each consisting of several isoforms, were eluted at 10%, 30% and 100% B. Optimization of the elution conditions and separation of the glucose oxidase isoforms was only possible because of the rapidity of each purification step and the high resolution provided by FPLC and Mono Q.     

Effect of Salt Stress on Growth and Metabolite Profiles of Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) along Three Growth Stages

Colombia is the main producer of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.), a plant known for its various consumption practices and medicinal properties. This plant is generally grown in eroded soils and is considered moderately tolerant to unfavorable conditions, such as nutrient-poor soils or high salt concentrations. Most studies conducted on this plant focus on fruit production and composition because it is the target product, but a small number of studies have been conducted to describe the effect of abiotic stress, e.g., salt stress, on growth and biochemical responses. In order to better understand the mechanism of inherent tolerance of this plant facing salt stress, the present study was conducted to determine the metabolic and growth differences of P. peruviana plants at three different BBCH-based growth substages, varying salt conditions. Hence, plants were independently treated with two NaCl solutions, and growth parameters and LC-ESI-MS-derived semi-quantitative levels of metabolites were then measured and compared between salt treatments per growth substage. A 90 mM NaCl treatment caused the greatest effect on plants, provoking low growth and particular metabolite variations. The treatment discrimination-driving feature classification suggested that glycosylated flavonols increased under 30 mM NaCl at 209 substages, withanolides decreased under 90 mM NaCl at 603 and 703 substages, and up-regulation of a free flavonol at all selected stages can be considered a salt stress response. Findings locate such response into a metabolic context and afford some insights into the plant response associated with antioxidant compound up-regulation.     

Probing the transmembrane potential of bacterial cells by voltage-sensitive dyes.

Fluorescent dyes have been widely employed as optical indicators of the membrane potential difference in cells, isolated organelles and lipid vesicles that are too small to make microelectrode measurements feasible. We describe here the application of a carbocyanine dye, 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine iodide [DiS-C3-(5)], to monitor the transmembrane potential changes induced by a variation of the K+ concentration for the cells of Escherichia (E.) coli and photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum (R.) rubrum. The cells were first incubated in buffers containing DiS-C3-(5) and K+ ions of various concentrations until the fluorescence intensity reached a constant value. Valinomycin was then added to the solution, which caused changes in the fluorescence intensity, depending on the K+ concentrations. The membrane potential is shown to have a linear relationship with the fluorescence intensity of DiS-C3-(5). The results demonstrate that the K+ concentrations inside intact cells are 4.6 mM and 5.3 mM for E. coli and R. rubrum, respectively. The diffusion potentials of K+ ions were determined using the Nernst equation over the range of -1.3 mV to 44 mV, corresponding to K+ concentrations of 5 mM -25 mM outside of the cells.     

Electrochemical impedance study of the hematite/water interface

Reactions taking place on hematite (α-Fe(2)O(3)) surfaces in contact with aqueous solutions are of paramount importance to environmental and technological processes. The electrochemical properties of the hematite/water interface are central to these processes and can be probed by open circuit potentials and cyclic voltammetric measurements of semiconducting electrodes. In this study, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to extract resistive and capacitive attributes of this interface on millimeter-sized single-body hematite electrodes. This was carried out by developing equivalent circuit models for impedance data collected on a semiconducting hematite specimen equilibrated in solutions of 0.1 M NaCl and NH(4)Cl at various pH values. These efforts produced distinct sets of capacitance values for the diffuse and compact layers of the interface. Diffuse layer capacitances shift in the pH 3-11 range from 2.32 to 2.50 μF·cm(-2) in NaCl and from 1.43 to 1.99 μF·cm(-2) in NH(4)Cl. Furthermore, these values reach a minimum capacitance at pH 9, near a probable point of zero charge for an undefined hematite surface exposing a variety of (hydr)oxo functional groups. Compact layer capacitances pertain to the transfer of ions (charge carriers) from the diffuse layer to surface hydroxyls and are independent of pH in NaCl, with values of 32.57 ± 0.49 μF·cm(-2)·s(-φ). However, they decrease with pH in NH(4)Cl from 33.77 at pH 3.5 to 21.02 μF·cm(-2)·s(-φ) at pH 10.6 because of the interactions of ammonium species with surface (hydr)oxo groups. Values of φ (0.71-0.73 in NaCl and 0.56-0.67 in NH(4)Cl) denote the nonideal behavior of this capacitor, which is treated here as a constant phase element. Because electrode-based techniques are generally not applicable to the commonly insulating metal (oxyhydr)oxides found in the environment, this study presents opportunities for exploring mineral/water interface chemistry by EIS studies of single-body hematite specimens.     

H2O2-induced cross-protection against UV-C killing in Escherichia coli is blocked in a lexA (Def) background

Pretreatment with 2.5 mM H2O2 protects E. coli cells against UV-C killing, a phenomenon independent of LexA cleavage. In this paper, we observe that this cross-protection response is neither dependent on the dinY gene product nor on the system that controls dinY, since H2O2 is able to induce cross-protection but not to induce the dinY gene in a lexA-noninducible strain [lexA (Ind-)]. Moreover, this response is not induced in a lexA (Def) background, suggesting that the expression of the SOS regulon may inhibit this cross-protection response.     

A micro-scale multi-frequency reactance measurement technique to detect bacterial growth at low bio-particle concentrations

The technique described enables the user to detect the presence and proliferation of bacteria through an increase in the bulk capacitance (C) of the suspension, which is proportional to the bacteria count, at practical frequencies less than 1 MHz. The geometry of the micro-capillary design employed increases the bulk resistance (R) of the medium, thus increasing its RC time. This makes the measured reactance sensitive to changes in the bulk capacitance, which is usually masked by the much larger surface capacitance. The sensitivity is further enhanced by the existence of a minimum in the value of the reactance at a frequency proportional to the inverse medium RC time. The value of this reactance minimum and the frequency at which the minimum is recorded are dependent on the bacteria count and permit the detection of an initial concentration of approximately 100 CFU ml(-1) of E. coli within 3 hours of incubation, in comparison with the previous reported values of about 8 hours, with an initial load of 1000 CFU ml(-1).     

High efficiency micellar electrokinetic chromatography of hydrophobic analytes on poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchips

This paper describes a simple method for the effective and rapid separation of hydrophobic molecules on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices using Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography (MEKC). For these separations the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) served two critical roles - it provided a dynamic coating on the channel wall surfaces and formed a pseudo-stationary chromatographic phase. The SDS coating generated an EOF of 7.1 x 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) (1.6% relative standard deviation (RSD), n = 5), and eliminated the absorption of Rhodamine B into the bulk PDMS. High efficiency separations of Rhodamine B, TAMRA (6-carboxytetramethylrhodamine, succinimidyl ester) labeled amino acids (AA), BODIPY FL CASE (N-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-propionyl)cysteic acid, succinimidyl ester) labeled AA's, and AlexaFluor 488 labeled Escherichia coli bacterial homogenates on PDMS chips were performed using this method. Separations of Rhodamine B and TAMRA labeled AA's using 25 mM SDS, 20% acetonitrile, and 10 mM sodium tetraborate generated efficiencies > 100,000 plates (N) or 3.3 x 10(6) N m(-1) in <25 s with run-to-run migration time reproducibilities <1% RSD over 3 h. Microchips with 30 cm long serpentine separation channels were used to separate 17 BODIPY FL CASE labeled AA's yielding efficiencies of up to 837,000 plates or 3.0 x 10(6) N m(-1). Homogenates of E. coli yielded approximately 30 resolved peaks with separation efficiencies of up to 600,000 plates or 2.4 x 10(6) N m(-1) and run-to-run migration time reproducibilities of <1% RSD over 3 h.     

Simultaneous detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium using quantum dots as fluorescence labels

In this study, we explored the use of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) as fluorescence labels in immunoassays for simultaneous detection of two species of foodborne pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium. QDs with different sizes can be excited with a single wavelength of light, resulting in different emission peaks that can be measured simultaneously. Highly fluorescent semiconductor quantum dots with different emission wavelengths (525 nm and 705 nm) were conjugated to anti-E. coli O157 and anti-Salmonella antibodies, respectively. Target bacteria were separated from samples by using specific antibody coated magnetic beads. The bead-cell complexes reacted with QD-antibody conjugates to form bead-cell-QD complexes. Fluorescent microscopic images of QD labeled E. coli and Salmonella cells demonstrated that QD-antibody conjugates could evenly and completely attach to the surface of bacterial cells, indicating that the conjugated QD molecules still retain their effective fluorescence, while the conjugated antibody molecules remain active and are able to recognize their specific target bacteria in a complex mixture. The intensities of fluorescence emission peaks at 525 nm and 705 nm of the final complexes were measured for quantitative detection of E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium simultaneously. The fluorescence intensity (FI) as a function of cell number (N) was found for Salmonella and E. coli, respectively. The regression models can be expressed as: FI = 60.6 log N- 250.9 with R(2) = 0.97 for S. Typhimurium, and FI = 77.8 log N- 245.2 with R(2) = 0.91 for E. coli O157:H7 in the range of cell numbers from 10(4) to 10(7) cfu ml(-1). The detection limit of this method was 10(4) cfu ml(-1). The detection could be completed within 2 hours. The principle of this method could be extended to detect multiple species of bacteria (3-4 species) simultaneously, depending on the availability of each type of QD-antibody conjugates with a unique emission peak and the antibody coated magnetic beads specific to each species of bacteria.