Magneto-mechanically actuated microstructures to efficiently prevent bacterial biofilm formation

Abstract: Biofilm colonisation of surfaces is of critical importance in various areas ranging from indwelling medical devices to industrial setups. Of particular importance is the reduced susceptibility of bacteria embedded in a biofilm to existing antimicrobial agents. In this paper, we demonstrate that remotely actuated magnetic cantilevers grafted on a substrate act efficiently in preventing bacterial biofilm formation. When exposed to an alternating magnetic field, the flexible magnetic cantilevers vertically deflect from their initial position periodically, with an extremely low frequency (0.16 Hz). The cantilevers’ beating prevents the initial stage of bacterial adhesion to the substrate surface and the subsequent biofilm growth. Our experimental data on E. coli liquid cultures demonstrate up to a 70% reduction in biofilm formation. A theoretical model has been developed to predict the amplitude of the cantilevers vertical deflection. Our results demonstrate proof-of-concept for a device that can magneto-mechanically prevent the first stage in bacterial biofilm formation, acting as on-demand fouling release active surfaces

Genomic changes associated with the evolutionary transition of an insect gut symbiont into a blood-borne pathogen.

The genus Bartonella comprises facultative intracellular bacteria with a unique lifestyle. After transmission by blood-sucking arthropods they colonize the erythrocytes of mammalian hosts causing acute and chronic infectious diseases. Although the pathogen-host interaction is well understood, little is known about the evolutionary origin of the infection strategy manifested by Bartonella species. Here we analyzed six genomes of Bartonella apis, a honey bee gut symbiont that to date represents the closest relative of pathogenic Bartonella species. Comparative genomics revealed that B. apis encodes a large set of vertically inherited genes for amino acid and cofactor biosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism. Most pathogenic bartonellae have lost these ancestral functions, but acquired specific virulence factors and expanded a vertically inherited gene family for harvesting cofactors from the blood. However, the deeply rooted pathogen Bartonella tamiae has retained many of the ancestral genome characteristics reflecting an evolutionary intermediate state toward a host-restricted intraerythrocytic lifestyle. Our findings suggest that the ancestor of the pathogen Bartonella was a gut symbiont of insects and that the adaptation to blood-feeding insects facilitated colonization of the mammalian bloodstream. This study highlights the importance of comparative genomics among pathogens and non-pathogenic relatives to understand disease emergence within an evolutionary-ecological framework

Comparison of dispersion and actuation properties of vortex and synthetic antiferromagnetic particles for biotechnological applications

International audienceMagnetic nanoparticles are receiving an increasing interest for various biotechnological applications due to the capability that they offer to exert actuation on biological species via external magnetic fields. In this study, two types of magnetic particles recently proposed for cancer cells treatment were compared. Both are prepared by top-down approaches and imitate the properties of superparamagnetic particles. One type is made of a single magnetic layer and has a magnetic vortex configuration. The second type has a multilayered structure called synthetic antiferromagnet. Once released in solution, the agglomeration/dispersion of these particles due to their magnetostatic interactions was compared as well as the mechanical torque that they can generate when submitted to an external magnetic fiel

Versatile magnetic microdiscs for the radio enhancement and mechanical disruption of glioblastoma cancer cells.

This study describes the use of highly versatile, lithographically defined magnetic microdiscs. Gold covered magnetic microdiscs are used in both radiosensitizing cancer cells, acting as intracellular emitters of secondary electrons during radiotherapy, and as well as inducing mechanical damage by exerting a mechanical torque when exposed to a rotating magnetic field. This study reveals that lithographically defined microdiscs with a uniform size of 2 microns in diameter highly increase the DNA damage and reduce the glioblastoma colony formation potential compared to conventional radiation therapy. Furthermore, the addition of mechanical disruption mediated by the magnetic component of the discs increased the efficiency of brain cancer cell killing

Tumbling motion yielding fast displacements of synthetic antiferromagnetic nanoparticles for biological applications

International audienceSynthetic antiferromagnetic micro/nanoparticles usable for biological applications were recently developed using a top-down approach, made of alternating NiFe layers and non magnetic Ru spacers. We describe here different types of motions of magnetic particles chains, controlled either by field gradients or alternating magnetic fields and combination of both. Of particular interest is a displacement named “tumbling motion” consisting in a combination of rotation and translation, with friction on the bottom surface of the container, as a bicycle wheel on a horizontal surface. This motion yields a translation speed 10–30 times faster than by using conventional gradient of magnetic fiel

Fabrication of magnetic micro/nanotweezers functionalized and dispersed in solution for bio

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Magnetic particles with perpendicular anisotropy for mechanical cancer cell destruction

We demonstrate the effectiveness of out-of-plane magnetized magnetic microdiscs for cancer treatment through mechanical cell disruption under an applied rotating magnetic field. The magnetic particles are synthetic antiferromagnets formed from a repeated motif of ultrathin CoFeB/Pt layers. In-vitro studies on glioma cells are used to compare the efficiency of the CoFeB/Pt microdiscs with Py vortex microdiscs. It is found that the CoFeB/Pt microdiscs are able to damage 62 ± 3% of cancer cells compared with 12 ± 2% after applying a 10 kOe rotating field for one minute. The torques applied by each type of particle are measured and are shown to match values predicted by a simple Stoner-Wohlfarth anisotropy model, giving maximum values of 20 fNm for the CoFeB/Pt and 75 fNm for the Py vortex particles. The symmetry of the anisotropy is argued to be more important than the magnitude of the torque in causing effective cell destruction in these experiments. This work shows how future magnetic particles can be successfully designed for applications requiring control of applied torques.This research was funded by NIH grant R01NS077388 ‘Magnetic Vortex Mixrodiscs for Glioma therapy’, the European Community under the Seventh Framework Program ERC contract No. 247368: 3SPIN, and the EPSRC Cambridge NanoDTC, EP/G037221/1