Development of Chitosan-Based Surfaces to Prevent Single- and Dual-Species Biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Implantable medical devices (IMDs) are susceptible to microbial adhesion and biofilm formation, which lead to several clinical complications, including the occurrence of implant-associated infections. Polylactic acid (PLA) and its composites are currently used for the construction of IMDs. In addition, chitosan (CS) is a natural polymer that has been widely used in the medical field due to its antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties, which can be dependent on molecular weight (Mw). The present study aims to evaluate the performance of CS-based surfaces of different Mw to inhibit bacterial biofilm formation. For this purpose, CS-based surfaces were produced by dip-coating and the presence of CS and its derivatives onto PLA films, as well surface homogeneity were confirmed by contact angle measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antimicrobial activity of the functionalized surfaces was evaluated against single- and dual-species biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Chitosan-based surfaces were able to inhibit the development of single- and dual-species biofilms by reducing the number of total, viable, culturable, and viable but nonculturable cells up to 79%, 90%, 81%, and 96%, respectively, being their activity dependent on chitosan Mw. The effect of CS-based surfaces on the inhibition of biofilm formation was corroborated by biofilm structure analysis using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), which revealed a decrease in the biovolume and thickness of the biofilm formed on CS-based surfaces compared to PLA. Overall, these results support the potential of low Mw CS for coating polymeric devices such as IMDs where the two bacteria tested are common colonizers and reduce their biofilm formation.     

A novel,simple and robust method for the analysis of sulfonamides in fish farming water samples using column switching liquid chromatography

A novel method for the online extraction and preconcentration of four sulfonamides was developed using column switching liquid chromatography. Sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfamethoxypyridazine and sulfamethoxazole were analysed in water samples and preconcentrated in a C18 guard column. Suitable validation parameters were obtained, such as precision, accuracy and relative recovery, in accordance with the validation guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration. Low limits of detection (0.05–0.09 µg L^?1) and quantification (0.30 µg L^?1, for all of them) were obtained. The quadratic polynomial model was used to adjust the calibration data, and the coefficients of determination were higher than 0.999 for all the analytes. The method was shown to be robust to the assayed parameters according to Youden’s test. The proposed method was successfully used to determine sulfonamides in 11 different fish farming water samples, in which sulfadiazine (0.732 µg L^?1), sulfamethoxazole (0.531 µg L^?1), sulfathiazole (0.546–1.856 µg L^?1) and sulfamethoxypyridazine (0.369–1.509 µg L^?1) were found.     

Partition into cliques for cubic graphs: Planar case, complexity and approximation

Given a graph G=(V,E) and a positive integer k, the partition into cliques (pic) decision problem consists of deciding whether there exists a partition of V into k disjoint subsets V₁,V₂,…,V_k such that the subgraph induced by each part V_i is a complete subgraph (clique) of G. In this paper, we establish both the NP-completeness of pic for planar cubic graphs and the Max SNP-hardness of pic for cubic graphs. We present a deterministic polynomial time -approximation algorithm for finding clique partitions in maximum degree three graphs.     

The Influence of the Electrodeposition Conditions on the Electroanalytical Performance of the Bismuth Film Electrode for Lead Determination

The bismuth film is a great promise as a suitable material to replace the mercury electrodes due to its low toxicity and good cathodic potential range. This work studies the influence of the electrodeposition conditions in the morphology and electroanalytical performance of the bismuth film electrodeposited onto copper electrode. The bismuth films were obtained in nitric or hydrochloric acid solutions with and without the presence of sodium citrate. The films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM‐EDX). The microscopic analysis of the bismuth film obtained in HCl solution with sodium citrate (BIFE‐Cit) showed more homogeneous structure with higher content of bismuth than the film obtained in HCl only (BiFE‐HCl). The BiFE‐Cit exhibited a better analytical performance for lead with good adherence to the copper substrate.     

A novel metal-protected plasma treatment for the robust bonding of polydimethylsiloxane

We describe a method for the irreversible bonding of PDMS-based microfluidic components by exploiting the first reported "shelfable" plasma treatment of PDMS. Simultaneous plasma activation and protection of PDMS surfaces are achieved via RF magnetron sputtering of thin aluminium films in the presence of an argon plasma. In this process, Ar plasma exposure generates a hydrophilic, silanol-enriched polymer surface amenable to irreversible bonding to glass, PDMS or silicon substrates, while the aluminium film functions as a capping layer to preserve the surface functionality over several weeks of storage in ambient conditions. Prior to bonding, this protective aluminium layer is removed by immersion in an aqueous etchant, exposing the adhesive surface. Employing this technology, PDMS-glass and PDMS-PDMS microfluidic devices were fabricated and the adhesive strength was quantified by tensile and leakage testing. Bonding success rates in excess of 80% were demonstrated for both PDMS-glass and PDMS-PDMS assemblies sealed 24 h and 7 days following initial polymer surface activation. PDMS-glass microdevices performed optimally, displaying maximum adhesive strengths on the order of 5 MPa and burst flow rates of approximately 1 mL min(-1) (channel dimensions: l = 25 mm; w = 300 microm; h = 20 microm). These data demonstrate a significant improvement in performance over previously reported bonding technologies, resulting in the production of more robust, longer-lasting microfluidic systems that can withstand higher pressures and flow rates.     

QTAIM charge-charge flux-dipole flux models for the infrared fundamental intensities of difluoro- and dichloroethylenes

A quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) charge-charge flux-dipole flux (CCFDF) decomposition of the MP2/6-311++G(3d,3p) level molecular dipole moment derivatives is reported for the cis-, trans-, and 1,1-difluoroethylenes and the cis- and trans-dichloroethylenes. Although the dipole moment derivatives and infrared fundamental intensities calculated at the MP2 level are overestimated for high-intensity bands corresponding to CF and CC stretching vibrations, the overall agreement is good with a root-mean-square (rms) error of 19.6 km mol-1 for intensities ranging from 0 to 217.7 km mol-1. The intensities calculated from the QTAIM/CCFDF model parameters are in excellent agreement with those calculated directly by the MP2/6-311++G(3d,3p) approach with only a 1.8 km mol-1 rms error. A high negative correlation (r=-0.91) is found between the charge flux and dipole flux contributions to the dipole moment derivatives. Characteristic values of charge, charge flux, and dipole flux contributions are found for CF, CCl, and CH stretching derivatives. The CH stretching derivatives provide especially interesting results with very high charge flux and dipole flux contributions with opposite signs. The charge, charge flux, and dipole flux contributions are found to be transferable from the cis to the trans isomers providing accurate predictions of the theoretical trans intensities with rms errors of 8.6 km mol-1 for trans-difluoroethylene and 5.9 km mol-1 for trans-dichloroethylene.     

Direct equilibration of soil water for delta(18)O analysis and its application to tracer studies

Current methods for stable oxygen isotopic (delta (18)O) analysis of soil water rely on separation of water from the soil matrix before analysis. These separation procedures are not only time consuming and require relatively large samples of soil, but also have been shown to introduce a large potential source of error. Current research at Queen's University Belfast is focused on using direct equilibration of CO(2) with the pore water to eliminate this extraction step using the automated Multiprep system and a Micromass Prism III isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). The findings of this research indicate the method is less time consuming, more reliable, and reproducible to within accepted limits (+/-0.1% per thousand delta (18)O). In this study the direct equilibration method is used to analyse delta (18)O tracer profiles in the unsaturated zone of field soils, concurrently with chloride tracer profiles, which can be used to assess infiltration rates and mechanisms through the unsaturated zone. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Secondary ion yields produced by keV atomic and polyatomic ion impacts on a self-assembled monolayer surface

A suite of keV polyatomic or 'cluster' projectiles was used to bombard unoxidized and oxidized self-assembled monolayer surfaces. Negative secondary ion yields, collected at the limit of single ion impacts, were measured and compared for both molecular and fragment ions. In contrast to targets that are orders of magnitude thicker than the penetration range of the primary ions, secondary ion yields from polyatomic projectile impacts on self-assembled monolayers show little to no enhancement when compared with monatomic projectiles at the same velocity. This unusual trend is most likely due to the structural arrangement and bonding characteristics of the monolayer molecules with the Au(111). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rigidity of critical circle mappings I

We prove that two C ³ critical circle maps with the same rotation number in a special set ? are C ^1+α conjugate for some α>0 provided their successive renormalizations converge together at an exponential rate in the C ⁰ sense. The set ? has full Lebesgue measure and contains all rotation numbers of bounded type. By contrast, we also give examples of C ^∞ critical circle maps with the same rotation number that are not C ^1+β conjugate for any β>0. The class of rotation numbers for which such examples exist contains Diophantine numbers. Received November 1, 1998 / final version received July 7, 1999