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Selective detection of Gram-negative bacteria and antibacterial properties of colorimetric polydiacetylene nanofibers

  • Polymers & biopolymers
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Abstract

Colorimetric biosensors made by polydiacetylene nanofibers have been of great interest in developing novel strategies of rapid and in situ detection to bacterial infection that is a major concern for human fatalities around the world. Previous studies have focused on bacterial detection and the sensitivity of the detection that the PDA biosensors can offer. However, the selectivity of the detection to different bacterial strains has not been well understood. With the recent emergence of multiple drug-resistance bacterial strains, selective detection of bacteria demands more attention and cutting-edge tools. In this study, a polydiacetylene (PDA) nanofiber biosensor prepared via electrospinning was found effectively to offer selective detection of Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa via a rapid blue-to-red colorimetric change. The quantification of the colorimetric changes suggested that the biosensor selectivity was effective in identifying with Gram-negative bacteria over Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). The selectivity was likely due to structural differences between Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria such as cell outer layer thickness, as well as different extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) released by different bacteria. In addition, the nanofiber biosensor demonstrated superior antibacterial properties that were evaluated using bacteria staining and electron microscopic techniques. A comprehensive analysis of the interaction between the PDA nanofibers and different bacteria was presented to provide insightful understanding of selective detection and antibacterial properties of the PDA nanofibers. The results suggested that PDA nanofibers have great potential in medical textiles, personal protective equipment, and other biomedical applications.

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Acknowledgements

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors would like to acknowledge Analytical Resources Core (ARC) at the Colorado State University, Fort Collins, for helping in obtaining SEM images (RRID: SCR_021758).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Advanced Materials Discovery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Abhishek Bhattacharjee, Ketul C. Popat & Yan Vivian Li

  2. School of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins,, CO, 80523, USA

    Emma Goodall, Ketul C. Popat & Yan Vivian Li

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Ketul C. Popat

  4. State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China

    Liming Zou

  5. Department of Design and Merchandising, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Yan Vivian Li

Authors
  1. Abhishek Bhattacharjee
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  2. Emma Goodall
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  3. Ketul C. Popat
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  4. Liming Zou
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  5. Yan Vivian Li
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Contributions

AB contributed to writing—original draft, review and editing, conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, and validation. Emma Goodall was involved in investigation and validation. LZ and KCP contributed to writing—review and editing, conceptualization, project administration, formal analysis, and validation. YVL was involved in writing—review and editing, conceptualization, project administration, formal analysis, and validation.

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Correspondence to Yan Vivian Li.

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Bhattacharjee, A., Goodall, E., Popat, K.C. et al. Selective detection of Gram-negative bacteria and antibacterial properties of colorimetric polydiacetylene nanofibers. J Mater Sci 58, 8261–8273 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08550-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08550-z

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