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Extracellular polymeric substance‐mediated tolerance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms to atmospheric pressure nonthermal plasma treatment
Author(s) -
Alshraiedeh Nid'a H.,
Kelly Stephen A.,
Thompson Thomas P.,
Flynn Padrig B.,
Tunney Michael M.,
Gilmore Brendan F.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plasma processes and polymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1612-8869
pISSN - 1612-8850
DOI - 10.1002/ppap.202000108
Subject(s) - biofilm , pseudomonas aeruginosa , microbiology and biotechnology , extracellular matrix , atmospheric pressure plasma , extracellular polymeric substance , bacteria , extracellular , cystic fibrosis , chemistry , mucus , microorganism , biology , plasma , biochemistry , ecology , genetics , physics , quantum mechanics
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic disease‐causing bacterium, with a number of strains exhibiting a mucus‐forming (mucoid) phenotype during infection, producing biofilms with a surrounding matrix containing alginate. Atmospheric pressure nonthermal plasmas (APNTP) are an emerging, potential approach to control biofilms across a range of medical and industrial applications. In this study, we examine the effect of plasma treatment on P. aeruginosa biofilms from clinical samples of cystic fibrosis patients, exhibiting both mucoid and non‐mucoid types. Biofilms of mucoid strains exhibit significantly elevated APNTP tolerance ( p < .05). Endogenous alginate overproduction, as well as supplementation of P. aeruginosa cultures with exogenous alginate, results in significantly increased APNTP tolerance. Overall, this study shows how extracellular polymeric substance components mediate tolerance to APNTP, with significantly greater effects observed in mucoid strains.