Abstract
Electrochemically generated bactericidal compounds have been shown to eradicate bacterial lawn biofilms through electroceutical treatment. However, the ultrastructure of biofilms exposed to these species has not been studied. Moreover, it is unknown if the efficacy of electroceutical treatment extends to antibiotic-resistant variants that emerge in lawn biofilms after antibiotic treatment. In this report, the efficacy of the in vitro electroceutical treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms is demonstrated both at room temperature and in an incubator, with a ~4 log decrease (p < 0.01) in the biofilm viability observed over the anode at both conditions. The ultrastructure changes in the lawn biofilms imaged using transmission electron microscopy demonstrate significant bacterial cell damage over the anode after 24 h of electroceutical treatment. A mix of both damaged and undamaged cells was observed over the cathode. Finally, both eradication and prevention of the emergence of tobramycin-resistant variants were demonstrated by combining antibiotic treatment with electroceutical treatment on the lawn biofilms.
Highlights
TEM imaging of the ultrastructure of PA-Xen[41] lawn biofilms under the electroceutical treatment in an incubator showed that the bacterial cell envelopes were damaged, likely due to the RCS generated at the anode, in samples taken above the anode at t = 24 h; while a mixture of un-damaged bacterial population and cellular debris was observed over the cathode at t = 24 h
Electroceutical treatment eliminated the tobramycin-resistant phenotypes which appear after ~3 days of TOB treatment on the PA-Xen[41] lawn biofilms; whereas no effect under IVIS imaging was discernible on the resistant phenotypes at the cathode
When the electroceutical treatment was combined with tobramycin treatment for the first 24 h, the emergence of tobramycin-resistant phenotypes was prevented at the anode
Summary
TEM imaging of the ultrastructure of PA-Xen[41] lawn biofilms under the electroceutical treatment in an incubator showed that the bacterial cell envelopes were damaged, likely due to the RCS generated at the anode, in samples taken above the anode at t = 24 h; while a mixture of un-damaged bacterial population and cellular debris was observed over the cathode at t = 24 h.
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