AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition
    Biomaterial Interfaces Tuesday Sessions
       Session BI-TuA

Paper BI-TuA3
Quantitative Characterization of Bacterial Cells Mixed with Nanoparticles

Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 3:00 pm, Room 211D

Session: Cells and Microorganisms at Surfaces
Presenter: Dmitri Petrovykh, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal
Authors: P.M. Martins, University of Minho, Portugal
A.R. Silva, University of Minho, Portugal
I.M. Pinto, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal
C. Sousa, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal
S. Lanceros-Méndez, University of Minho, Portugal
D.Y. Petrovykh, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal
Correspondent: Click to Email
The unique physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) are the basis for their potential applications in nanomedicine and biomedical research, whereby NPs interacting with cells provide a means for detecting, monitoring, or controlling cell functions via non-biological (magnetic, electronic, optical, mechanical) properties of NPs. When considering interactions of NPs with bacterial cells, the single-digit micrometer or even submicron sizes of typical bacteria have to be taken into account, in addition to their biological properties. For mixed suspensions of bacteria and NPs, therefore, both biological and physicochemical properties are involved in creating the corresponding micrometer- and nanometer-scale biointerfaces. While some methods are available for characterizing the biological properties of bacteria in suspension, reliable characterization of their physicochemical properties remains challenging, even for basic parameters, such as size distribution and concentration. Staphyloccus aureus bacteria are a convenient model system for developing and validating such physicochemical analysis of bacterial cells, due to their robust viability and nearly-spherical shapes with diameters of approximately 1 micrometer. We will describe the use of multiple complementary techniques, including flow cytometry, high-resolution microscopy, and optical spectroscopy, scattering, and absorption, for quantitative characterization of S. aureus suspensions and for extending these methods to investigations of NP-bacteria interactions.