RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Anti-biofilm Activity of Graphene Quantum Dots via Self-Assembly with Bacterial Amyloid Proteins
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 550285
DO 10.1101/550285
A1 Yichun Wang
A1 Usha Kadiyala
A1 Zhibei Qu
A1 Paolo Elvati
A1 Christopher Altheim
A1 Nicholas A. Kotov
A1 Angela Violi
A1 J. Scott VanEpps
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/02/19/550285.abstract
AB 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 create additional barriers to their practicality. In this paper we report on the ability of graphene quantum dots to effectively disperse mature 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 novel strategy for mitigation of bacterial communities. GQD mediated staphylococcal biofilm dispersal. GQDs interact with PSM peptides and frustrate the fibrillation process. The reduction in amyloid fibers prevents robust stabilization of the biofilm. In addition, there is an increase in free monomeric and oligomeric PSM peptides which trigger dispersal events.