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Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458 Vol. 10 No. 2, Issue of January 15, 2007
© 2007 by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile Received August 21, 2006 / Accepted October 26, 2006
DOI: 10.2225/vol10-issue2-fulltext-7
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Membrane damage of bacteria by silanols treatment

Yun-mi Kim
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Tel: 1 352 846-3793
Fax: 1 352 846-3355
E-mail: yunmi740@ufl.edu

Samuel Farrah
Department of Microbiology and Cell Science
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Tel: 1 352 392-5925
Fax: 1 352 392-5922
E-mail: sfarrah@ufl.edu

Ronald H. Baney*
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Tel: 1 352 846-3785
Fax: 1 352 846-3355
E-mail: rbane@mse.ufl.edu

Website : http://baney.mse.ufl.edu

*Corresponding author

Financial support: Air Force Research Lab. in Tyndall Air Force Base.

Keywords: antimicrobials, hydrophobicity, organosilicon compounds.

Abstract
Full Text

Antimicrobial action of silanols, a new class of antimicrobials, was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and fluorescent dye studies. Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis were treated by silanols at concentration of less than 0.2 wt% for one hour. Membrane damage of the bacteria by the silanol treatment was clearly observed by transmission electron microscopy. Separation of the cytoplasmic membrane from the outer membrane for E. coli and disorganized cytoplasmic membrane of the Gram-positive bacteria were observed when compared to the control. Fluorescent dyes, green-fluorescent nucleic acid stain (Syto 9) and the red-fluorescent nucleic acid stain (Propidium iodide), were used to monitor membrane damage of the bacteria by Confocal microscopy and Spectrophotometer. A reduction of the green fluorescent emission was detected for silanol treated bacteria indicating membrane damage of the bacteria and supporting the hypothesis that their viability loss maybe due to their membrane damage analogus to alcohols.

Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network