• 文献标题:   Anti-Biofilm Activity of Graphene Quantum Dots via Self-Assembly with Bacterial Amyloid Proteins
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   WANG YC, KADIYALA U, QU ZB, ELVATI P, ALTHEIM C, KOTOV NA, VIOLI A, VANEPPS JS
  • 作者关键词:   carbon nanomaterial, extracellular matrix, phenolsoluble modulin, nanoscale biomimetic, quorum sensing, functional amyloid, biofilm regulation
  • 出版物名称:   ACS NANO
  • ISSN:   1936-0851 EI 1936-086X
  • 通讯作者地址:   Univ Michigan
  • 被引频次:   8
  • DOI:   10.1021/acsnano.8b09403
  • 出版年:   2019

▎ 摘  要

Bacterial biofilms represent an essential part of Earth's ecosystem that can cause multiple ecological, technological, and health problems. The environmental resilience and sophisticated organization of biofilms are enabled by the extracellular matrix that creates a protective network of biomolecules around the bacterial community. Current anti-biofilm agents can interfere with extracellular matrix production but, being based on small molecules, are degraded by bacteria and rapidly diffuse away from biofilms. Both factors severely reduce their efficacy, while their toxicity to higher organisms creates additional barriers to their practicality. In this paper, we report on the ability of graphene quantum dots to effectively disperse mature amyloid-rich Staphylococcus aureus biofilms, interfering with the self-assembly of amyloid fibers, a key structural component of the extracellular matrix. Mimicking peptide-binding biomolecules, graphene quantum dots form supramolecular complexes with phenol-soluble modulins, the peptide monomers of amyloid fibers. Experimental and computational results show that graphene quantum dots efficiently dock near the N-terminus of the peptide and change the secondary structure of phenol-soluble modulins, which disrupts their fibrillation and represents a strategy for mitigation of bacterial communities.