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Bassu G, Laurati M, Fratini E. Transition from active motion to anomalous diffusion for Bacillus subtilis confined in hydrogel matrices. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2024; 236:113797. [PMID: 38431996 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.113797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
We investigate the motility of B. subtilis under different degrees of confinement induced by transparent porous hydrogels. The dynamical behavior of the bacteria at short times is linked to characteristic parameters describing the hydrogel porosity. Mean squared displacements (MSDs) reveal that the run-and-tumble dynamics of unconfined B. subtilis progressively turns into sub-diffusive motion with increasing confinement. Correspondingly, the median instantaneous velocity of bacteria decreases and becomes more narrowly distributed, while the reorientation rate increases and reaches a plateau value. Analyzing single-trajectories, we show that the average dynamical behavior is the result of complex displacements, in which active, diffusive and sub-diffusive segments coexist. For small and moderate confinements, the number of active segments reduces, while the diffusive and sub-diffusive segments increase. The alternation of sub-diffusion, diffusion and active motion along the same trajectory can be described as a hopping ad trapping motion, in which hopping events correspond to displacements with an instantaneous velocity exceeding the corresponding mean value along a trajectory. Different from previous observations, escape from local trapping occurs for B. subtilis through active runs but also diffusion. Interestingly, the contribution of diffusion is maximum at intermediate confinements. At sufficiently long times transport coefficients estimated from the experimental MSDs under different degrees of confinement can be reproduced using a recently proposed hopping and trapping model. Finally, we propose a quantitative relationship linking the median velocity of confined and unconfined bacteria through the characteristic confinement length of the hydrogel matrix. Our work provides new insights for the bacterial motility in complex media that mimic natural environments and are relevant to important problems like sterilization, water purification, biofilm formation, membrane permeation and bacteria separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavino Bassu
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy; Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI)), Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
| | - Marco Laurati
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy; Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI)), Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy.
| | - Emiliano Fratini
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy; Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI)), Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
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Rosciardi V, Bandelli D, Bassu G, Casu I, Baglioni P. Highly biocidal poly(vinyl alcohol)-hydantoin/starch hybrid gels: A "Trojan Horse" for Bacillus subtilis. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 657:788-798. [PMID: 38081113 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/02/2024]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) cryogels can be functionalized with n-Halamines to confer biocidal features useful for their application as wound-dressing tools. Their efficacy can be boosted by stably embedding a polymeric bacterial food source (e.g., starch) in the gel matrix. The bioavailability of the food source lures bacteria inside the gel network via chemotactic mechanisms, promoting their contact with the biocidal functionalities and their consequent inactivation. EXPERIMENTS The synthesis of a novel hydantoin-functionalized PVA (H-PVA-hyd) is proposed. The newly synthesized H-PVA-hyd polymer was introduced in the formulation of H-PVA-based cryogels. To promote the cryogelation of the systems we exploited phase-separation mechanisms employing either a PVA carrying residual acetate groups (L-PVA) or starch as phase-segregating components. The permanence of the biocidal functionality after swelling was investigated via proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microscopy. The activated H-PVA-hyd cryogels have been tested against bacteria with amylolytic activity (Bacillus subtilis) and the outcomes were analyzed by direct observation via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). FINDINGS The cryogels containing starch resulted in being the most effective (up to 90% bacterial killing), despite carrying a lower amount of hydantoin groups than their starch-free counterparts, suggesting that their improved efficacy relies on a "Trojan Horse" type of mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Rosciardi
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy; CSGI, Center for Colloids and Surface Science, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy.
| | - Damiano Bandelli
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy.
| | - Gavino Bassu
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy; CSGI, Center for Colloids and Surface Science, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy.
| | - Ilaria Casu
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy.
| | - Piero Baglioni
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy; CSGI, Center for Colloids and Surface Science, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy.
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Soto-Bustamante F, Bassu G, Fratini E, Laurati M. Effect of Composition and Freeze-Thaw on the Network Structure, Porosity and Mechanical Properties of Polyvinyl-Alcohol/Chitosan Hydrogels. Gels 2023; 9:gels9050396. [PMID: 37232988 DOI: 10.3390/gels9050396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
We report the synthesis and characterization of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/Chitosan (CT) cryogels for applications involving the uptake and entrapment of particulate and bacterial colonies. In particular, we systematically investigated the network and pore structures of the gels as a function of CT content and for different freeze-thaw times, combining Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and confocal microscopy. The nanoscale analysis obtained from SAXS shows that while the characteristic correlation length of the network is poorly affected by composition and freeze-thaw time, the characteristic size of heterogeneities associated with PVA crystallites decreases with CT content. SEM investigation evidences a transition to a more homogeneous network structure induced by the incorporation of CT that progressively builds a secondary network around the one formed by PVA. A detailed analysis of confocal microscopy image stacks allows to characterize the 3D porosity of the samples, revealing a significantly asymmetric shape of the pores. While the average volume of single pores increases with increasing CT content, the overall porosity remains almost unchanged as a result of the suppression of smaller pores in the PVA network with the progressive incorporation of the more homogeneous CT network. Increasing the freezing time in the FT cycles also results in a decrease of porosity, which can be associated with a growth in the crosslinking of the network due to PVA crystallization. The linear viscoelastic moduli measured by oscillatory rheology show a qualitatively comparable frequency-dependent response in all cases, with a moderate reduction with increasing CT content. This is attributed to changes in the structure of the strands of the PVA network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Soto-Bustamante
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Ugo Schiff", Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI), c/o Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
| | - Gavino Bassu
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Ugo Schiff", Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI), c/o Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
| | - Emiliano Fratini
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Ugo Schiff", Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI), c/o Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
| | - Marco Laurati
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Ugo Schiff", Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI), c/o Università di Firenze, 50019 Firenze, Italy
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Bassu G, Laurati M, Fratini E. Microgel dynamics within the 3D porous structure of transparent PEG hydrogels. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2023; 221:112938. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2022.112938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Macchiagodena M, Bassu G, Vettori I, Fratini E, Procacci P, Pagliai M. 2-Butanol Aqueous Solutions: A Combined Molecular Dynamics and Small/Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering Study. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:8826-8833. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c05708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marina Macchiagodena
- Dipartimento di Chimica “Ugo Schiff”, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Gavino Bassu
- Dipartimento di Chimica “Ugo Schiff”, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI), Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Irene Vettori
- Dipartimento di Chimica “Ugo Schiff”, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI), Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Emiliano Fratini
- Dipartimento di Chimica “Ugo Schiff”, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
- Consorzio per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (CSGI), Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Piero Procacci
- Dipartimento di Chimica “Ugo Schiff”, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Marco Pagliai
- Dipartimento di Chimica “Ugo Schiff”, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
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Vettori I, Macchiagodena M, Pagliai M, Bassu G, Fratini E, Baglioni P. Conformational and solvent effects in structural and spectroscopic properties of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and acrylic acid. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Mulas M, Bassu G, Coccollone A, Masia G, Muzzigoni C, Picoi M, Cabras P. EVALUATION OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE INFECTION STATUS OF UDDER AND THE MICROBIOLOGICAL MILK QUALITY IN SOME EXTENSIVE GOAT HERDS OF SARDINIA - PRELIMINARY RESULTS. Ital J Food Saf 2011. [DOI: 10.4081/ijfs.2011.1s.267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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