Radiochemical method for evaluating the effect of antibiotics on Escherichia coli biofilms

Authors

Barbara A. Dix
Paul S. Cohen, University of Rhode IslandFollow
David C. Laux, University of Rhode IslandFollow
Roy Cleeland

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

1988

Department

Microbiology

Abstract

A simple radiochemical method for evaluating the action of antibiotics on Escherichia coli cells in biofilms is reported. After growth, biofilms of E. coli ATCC 25922 on disks of urinary catheter material were suspended in fresh medium containing or lacking an antibiotic, incubated for 4 h at 37°C, and pulse-labeled with [³H]leucine for 5 min. Radioactivity in trichloracetic acid-precipitable material in the biofilm and in the surrounding medium (planktonic E. coli) was then measured. Antibiotic-induced inhibition of incorporation of [³H]leucine into the cells in the biofilm was far less pronounced than incorporation into planktonic cells and, furthermore, correlated well with loss in viable counts. The method is simple, inexpensive, and extremely timesaving.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Dix, B. A., Cohen, P. S., Laux, D. C., & Cleeland, R. (1988). Radiochemical method for evaluating the effect of antibiotics on Escherichia coli biofilms. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., 32(5), 770-772. doi: 10.1128/AAC.32.5.770

Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AAC.32.5.770