Control of microbial biofilm formation as an approach for biomaterials synthesis

CHAVES, SILVINA; LONGO, MARIANELLA; GÓMEZ LÓPEZ, AZUCENA; DEL V LOTO, FLAVIA; MECHETTI, MAGDALENA; ROMERO, CINTIA M.

COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2020

0927-7765

The search for new biomaterials with superior mechanical properties is the focus in the area of materials science. A promising pathway is drawing inspiration from nature to design and develop materials with enhanced properties. In this work, a novel strategy to produce functionalized supramolecular bionanomaterials from the microbial biofilm is reported.Tuneable biofilms with specific characteristics were obtained by controlling the culture condition of the microorganism. When the exopolysaccharide (EPS) production was desired the tryptone was the best nutritional component for the EPS production into the biofilm. However, for the expression of a high amount of amyloid protein the combination of peptone and glucose was the best nutritional choice. Each biofilm obtained showed its owner rheology properties. These properties were altered by the addition of extracellular DNA, which increased the viscosity of the biofilm and induced a viscoelastic hydrogel behavior. Besides, as a proof of concept of bionanomaterial, a novel supramolecular polymeric hybrid EPS-Amyloid protein (EPAP) was obtained from the biofilm and it was tested as a new natural functionalized support for enzyme immobilization.