Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1988 May;32(5):770-2.
doi: 10.1128/AAC.32.5.770.

Radiochemical method for evaluating the effect of antibiotics on Escherichia coli biofilms

B A Dix  1 , P S Cohen, D C Laux, R Cleeland
Affiliations

Radiochemical method for evaluating the effect of antibiotics on Escherichia coli biofilms

B A Dix et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1988 May.

Abstract

A simple radiochemical method for evaluating the action of antibiotics on Escherichia coli cells in biofilms is reported. After growth, biofilms of E. coli ATCC 25922 on disks of urinary catheter material were suspended in fresh medium containing or lacking an antibiotic, incubated for 4 h at 37 degrees C, and pulse-labeled with [3H]leucine for 5 min. Radioactivity in trichloracetic acid-precipitable material in the biofilm and in the surrounding medium (planktonic E. coli) was then measured. Antibiotic-induced inhibition of incorporation of [3H]leucine into the cells in the biofilm was far less pronounced than incorporation into planktonic cells and, furthermore, correlated well with loss in viable counts. The method is simple, inexpensive, and extremely timesaving.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. J Infect Dis. 1980 Feb;141(2):238-47 - PubMed
    1. Crit Rev Microbiol. 1981;8(4):303-38 - PubMed
    1. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1987 Oct;31(10):1502-6 - PubMed
    1. J Clin Microbiol. 1985 Jun;21(6):902-8 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1985 May 24;228(4702):990-3 - PubMed

Substances