New dynamic microreactor system to mimic biofilm formation and test anti-biofilm activity of nanoparticles

NATALIA BOURGUIGNON; VIVEK KAMAT; KALAI MATHEE; BETIANA LERNER; MAXIMILIANO PEREZ ; SHEKHAR BHANSALI

APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2022

0175-7598

The microfluidic (Lab-On-Chip, LOC) approach that mimics in vivo scenarios to understand biological interactions has been developed as biosensors. The LOC application as miniaturized tool to study organisms and their interaction with innate materials is an emerging field. Microbial biofilms provide defense and survival mechanisms, including avoiding host inflammatory cells and protecting against antibiotics increasing the time taken for eradication. A LOC device with a unique microchannel that provides optimal microenvironmental conditions closely mimicking in vivo biofilm formation is presented in this study. The biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the effectiveness of silver nanoparticles (SNP), chitosan nanoparticles (CNP), and a complex of chitosan-coated silver nanoparticles (CSNP) to eradicate the biofilm under a continuous flow was explored. The influence of flow rates on biofilms growth was analyzed using a mathematical modeling software COSMOL Multiphysics® 5.2. Significant cell adhesion to the substrate and biofilm formation inside the microchannels were observed at higher flow rates >100 µL/h. In this continuous flow system, the P. aeruginosa biofilm formation was inhibited by all the nanoparticles tested. The most significant loss of biofilm was seen with CSNP with a 65.5 % decrease in average live/dead cells signal in biofilm compared to the negative controls. This study shows that the microbioreactor allows the formation of a good biofilm and is a valuable tool for quickly screening the antibiofilm activity of nano drugs. This microchip has potential use in drug testing and other biomedical applications.