Open AccessCorrelation between hydrophobicity and resistance to nonoxynol‐9 and vancomycin for urogenital isolates of lactobacilli
Author(s) -
Tomeczek Lisa,
Reid Gregor,
Cuperus Pieter L.,
McGroarty Jacqueline A.,
Mei Henny C.,
Bruce Andrew W.,
Khoury Antoine E.,
Busscher Henk J.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05297.x
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , vancomycin , biology , bacteria , staphylococcus aureus , genetics
Seven clinical isolates of lactobacilli were found to be relatively hydrophobic with a mean watercontact angle of 66 ± 15 degrees, and to be susceptible to 1% nonoxynol‐9 and vancomycin. However, seven other strains were relatively hydrophilic with a mean water‐contact angle of 32 ± 13 degrees, and found to be resistant to 25% nonoxynol‐9 and vancomycin. Thus, the surface properties of lactobacilli that influence susceptibility to antimicrobial agents may involve surface hydrophobicity. Possibly the penetration barrier posed by the cell surface towards these two non‐ionic antimicrobials is lower for hydrophobic cells than for hydrophilic cells.