“E. coli is a common bacteria investigated with rod shape and is native to warm blooded organisms, normally found in the gut,” Advincula said. | Eric Erbe/Wikimedia Commons
UH polymer chemist Rigoberto Advincula and his research partners have discovered effective concepts to the bacteria E. coli.
Their findings will be published in the June issues of two chemistry journals: Chemical Communications and Chemistry of Materials.
“E. coli is a common bacteria investigated with rod-shape and is native to warm blooded organisms, normally found in the gut. It is a bacterium that is commonly grown in laboratories and is easy to grow, a model organism for biotechnology and microbiological studies,” Advincula said.
E. coli is normally harmless, but certain types can cause food poisoning in humans, Advincula said.
“Most forms of E. coli are readily used in laboratory studies and are actually beneficial in the intestine gut or flora. However, certain serotypes can cause serious food poisoning when exposed or ingested in humans,” Advincula said. “This has caused alarm in the consumption of certain types of food products and recall. Mitigation in food packaging/handling or rapid testing and confirmation of harmful forms should be done.”
The chemistry journal Chemical Communications has featured a graphene material shown to be a successful antimicrobial against bacteria. Another journal, Chemistry of Materials suggests the use of a conducting polymer to fight E. coli, according to Advincula.
Advincula and his colleagues have produced a smart film to shut bacterial adhesions on and off, but also to discover bacteria.
“The group has been engaged in the design and synthesis of new polymers and nanocomposites with applications in anti-biofouling, anti-corrosion, and barrier properties,” Advincula said.
Advincula collaborated with Professor Debora Rodrigues of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Deparment on E. coli’s anti-microbial and non-biofouling properties.
“We have investigated in the past the adhesion of various types of proteins and cells on surfaces. In particular, the use of non-fouling surfaces to prevent non-specific proteins such as fibrinogen, lysozyme, bovine serum albumin,” Advincula said.
“We have also looked at the grown of fibroblast cells on surfaces as well. While we have investigated the growth of E. coli in the past, this current work with professor Rodrigues investigated both anti-microbial and anti-adhesion properties of E. coli on two different materials: a conducting polymer and a graphene nanocomposite,” Advincula said.
Advincula and his research team plan further scientific investigations in the future.
“We plan to pursue other types of nanostructured surfaces with both biological and nanotechnology application, looking at the use of PEGylated structures that can enhance specific binding of enzymes and proteins or prepare molecular cues that are specific for growing certain types of cells,” he said.
Ultimately, Advincula thinks that his work with Rodrigues will lead to use in the biosensing and diagnostic fields, and will be configured in several different ways.
