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. 2017 Dec 5:8:2333.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02333. eCollection 2017.

Rapid in Vitro Quantification of S. aureus Biofilms on Vascular Graft Surfaces

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Rapid in Vitro Quantification of S. aureus Biofilms on Vascular Graft Surfaces

Monika Herten et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Objectives: Increasing resistance of microorganisms and particularly tolerance of bacterial biofilms against antibiotics require the need for alternative antimicrobial substances. S. aureus is the most frequent pathogen causing vascular graft infections. In order to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy, quantification of the bacterial biofilms is necessary. Aim of the present study was the validation of an in vitro model for quantification of bacterial biofilm on vascular graft surfaces using three different assays. Methods: Standardized discs of vascular graft material (Dacron or PTFE) or polystyrene (PS) as control surface with 0.25 cm2 surface area were inoculated with 10-3 diluted overnight culture of three biofilm-producing S. aureus isolates (BEB-029, BEB-295, SH1000) in 96-well PS culture plates. After incubation for 4 and 18 h, the biofilm was determined by three different methods: (a) mitochondrial ATP concentration as measure of bacterial viability (ATP), (b) crystal violet staining (Cry), and (c) vital cell count by calculation of colony-forming units (CFU). The experiments were performed three times. Quadruplicates were used for each isolate, time point, and method. In parallel, bacterial biofilms were documented via scanning electron microscopy. Results: All three methods could quantify biofilms on the PS control. Time needed was 0:40, 13:10, and 14:30 h for ATP, Cry, and CFU, respectively. The Cry assay could not be used for vascular graft surfaces due to high unspecific background staining. However, ATP assay and CFU count showed comparable results on vascular graft material and control. The correlations between ATP and CFU assay differed according to the surface and incubation time and were significant only after 4 h on Dacron (BEB-029, p = 0.013) and on PS (BEB-029, p < 0.001). Between ATP and Cry assay on PS, a significant correlation could be detected after 4 h (BEB-295, p = 0.027) and after 18 h (all three strains, p < 0.026). The reproducibility of the ATP-assay presented as inter-assay-variance of 2.1 and as intra-assay variance of 8.1 on polystyrene. Conclusion: The in-vitro model reproducibly quantifies biofilm on standardized vascular graft surfaces with ATP assay as detection system. The ATP assay allows accelerated microbial quantification, however the correlation with the CFU assay may be strain- and surface-dependent.

Keywords: ATP assay; antimicrobial activity; biofilm quantification; colony-forming units (CFU); crystal violet staining (Cry); vascular graft.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experiment set-up: (A) Vascular graft material was dissected with biopsy punches resulting in a standardized surface area of 0.25 cm2 and (B) placed into 96-well polystyrene (PS) cell culture plates.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SEM analysis of vascular graft material: upper row: on Dacron fiber, lower row: on PTFE surface: (A) knitted structure; (B) fibers; (C) S. aureus strain SH1000 biofilm on Dacron fiber. (D,E) PTFE surface in different magnifications; (F) S. aureus strain SH1000 on PTFE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Biofilm quantification on the control surface polystyrene. (A) Mitochondrial ATP concentration, (B) CFU count, (C) Crystal violet staining.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Quantification of the S. aureus strains on different surfaces: polystyrene, Dacron and PTFE. Upper: ATP concentration. Lower: CFU counts. Data for the polystyrene surface were additionally depicted in Figure 3.

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