122 results about "Microbial Biofilms" patented technology

The present invention relates to the use of microbial biofilms and microbial induction of calcium carbonate precipitation to sequester gases in underground geological formations. In one embodiment, methods of the invention can be used to prevent the leakage of supercritical CO2 in underground geological formations such as aquifers.

A wastewater treatment system has two separate but interlinked tanks containing four different zones, namely aerobic, microaerophilic, anoxic and anaerobic, for the biological treatment of the wastewater, as well as two clarification zones and a filtration unit for separation of solids from liquid. The first tank contains the aerobic, microaerophilic and anoxic zone as well as a clarification zone, while the second dank includes the anaerobic zone, a solid-liquid separation zone and a filtration unit. The aerobic zone is an airlift reactor that contains air diffusers at the bottom of the zone to introduce air into the zone. The air bubbles mix the liquid and its content of microorganisms, and provide oxygen for the aerobic biological processes that take place in this zone. Aeration also produces circulation of liquid between the aerobic zone and its adjacent microaerophilic and anoxic zones that are located at the sides and under the aerobic zone, respectively. The aerobic zone contains suspended microorganisms of heterotrophic and autotrophic groups that grow inside the circulating liquid, known as mixed liquor. Within the volume of the aerobic zone, loose carrier material or stationary objects are disposed to support the attachment of microbial biomass and the formation of microbial biofilm.

The present invention relates to methods for promoting dispersal of, or preventing formation of microbial biofilms, comprising: exposing a biofilm to an effective amount of nitric oxide or at least one nitric oxide generating or releasing agent; treating a surface or medium susceptible to biofilm formation with an effective amount of nitric oxide or at least one nitric oxide generating or releasing agent; incorporating an effective amount of nitric oxide or at least one nitric oxide generating or releasing agent in a surface or medium susceptible to biofilm formation; or inducing the accumulation of one or more reactive oxygen or nitrogen species within microorganisms within said biofilm or capable of forming a biofilm. The invention also relates to methods for maintaining or enhancing or maintaining and enhancing the functioning of a biofilm, comprising exposing a biofilm to at least one nitric oxide scavenger, at least one antioxidant or at least one nitric oxide scavenger and at least one antioxidant. The invention also relates to compositions for promoting dispersal of, or preventing formation of microbial biofilms, or for maintaining or enhancing or maintaining and enhancing the functioning of microbial biofilms.

The present invention relates to the use of the cyclic dinucleotide c-di-GMP and cyclic dinucleotide analogues thereof in a method for attenuating virulence of a microbial pathogen or for inhibiting or reducing colonization by a microbial pathogen. This method further inhibits microbial biofilm formation and is capable of treating bacterial infections. The microbial colonization or biofilm formation inhibited or reduced may be on the skin or on nasal or mucosal surface. The microbial colonization or biofilm formation inhibited can also be on the surfaces of medical devices, especially those in close contact with the patient, as well on the surfaces of industrial and construction material where microbial colonization and biofilm formation is of concern.

Disclosure is provided for methods of preventing, removing or inhibiting microbial biofilm formation or microbial infection in a plant or plant part thereof, including applying thereto a treatment effective amount of an active compound as described herein, or an agriculturally acceptable salt thereof. Methods of enhancing a microbicide (e.g., including a copper, antibiotic, bacteriophage, etc.) and / or plant defense activator are also provided, including applying an active compound as described herein. Compositions comprising an active compound as described herein in an agriculturally acceptable carrier are also provided, and in some embodiments the compositions further include a microbicide (e.g., including copper, antibiotic, bacteriophage, etc.) and / or plant defense activator.

The invention discloses a hydrophilic carrier for microbial biofilm formation. The hydrophilic carrier comprises a hollow short tube, and a first concentric ring and a second concentric ring which are sequentially concentrically arranged outside the hollow short tube, wherein the surface of the outermost second concentric ring is toothed; and the microbial filler is composed of the following components in parts by weight: high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, white lime, Dow powder activated carbon, light calcium carbonate, maleic anhydride, dicumyl peroxide, gelatin, chitin, ferroferric oxide magnetic powder and manganese-zinc ferrite. The density of the microbial filler is 0.96-0.98 g / cm<3>. The hydrophilic carrier for microbial biofilm formation prolongs the contact time between microbes and organic matters, so that the organic matters are degraded quickly and thoroughly; and the biological oxidation can restore the surface adsorption capacity of the activated carbon.

A process has been found which increases the efficiency and effectiveness of introducing antimicrobial compounds into complex biofilm matrices through the use of liposome carriers, thereby removing the biofouling in industrial water bearing systems, including piping, heat exchanges, condensers, filtration systems and fluid storage tanks. According to one embodiment of the invention, antimicrobial compound containing liposomes are added to water systems prone to biofouling and biofilm formation. The liposomes, being similar in composition to microbial membranes or cells, are readily incorporated into the existing biofilm. Once the antimicrobial compound containing liposomes become entrained with the biofilm matrix, the decomposition or programmed disintegration of the liposome proceeds. Thereafter, the biocidal aqueous core is released to react directly with the biofilm encased microorganisms. Upon the death of the organisms, the polysaccharide / protein matrix decomposes and thereby results in reduced fouling of the water bearing system, resulting in increased heat transfer, increased flux, less deposit of colloidal and particulate solids and dissolved organics on the surface of the microfiltration membrane, thereby reducing the frequency and duration of the membrane cleaning and ultimate replacement.

A process has been found which increases the efficiency and effectiveness of introducing antimicrobial compounds into complex biofilm matrices through the use of liposome carriers, thereby removing the biofouling in industrial water bearing systems, including piping, heat exchanges, condensers, filtration systems and fluid storage tanks.According to one embodiment of the invention, antimicrobial compound containing liposomes are added to water systems prone to biofouling and biofilm formation. The liposomes, being similar in composition to microbial membranes or cells, are readily incorporated into the existing biofilm. Once the antimicrobial compound containing liposomes become entrained with the biofilm matrix, the decomposition or programmed disintegration of the liposome proceeds. Thereafter the biocidal aqueous core is released to react directly with the biofilm encased microorganisms. Upon the death of the organisms, the polysaccharide / protein matrix decomposes and thereby results in reduced fouling of the water bearing system, resulting in increased heat transfer, increased flux, less deposit of colloidal and particulate solids and dissolved organics on the surface of the microfiltration membrane, thereby reducing the frequency and duration of the membrane cleaning and ultimate replacement.

A method has been found for the removal of microbial biofilm on surfaces in contact with systems, including but not limited to aqueous systems, which comprises adding to the aqueous system an effective amount of a polyethyleneimine surfactant to substantially remove microbial biofilm, from surfaces in aquatic systems, while presenting minimal danger to non-target aquatic organisms at discharge due to their very low discharge concentrations.

The present invention provides a method for prophylaxis and therapy of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms present in biofilms adherent to cell surfaces comprising the step of administering to an individual in need thereof a composition comprising a combination of at least one compound chosen from the group of peroxidase, lactoferrin, lactoferrin peptides, lysozyme and immunoglobulins and at least one growth factor.

A method has been found for the inhibition of microbial biofilm on surfaces in contact with systems, such as aqueous systems. In accordance with the method, an effective amount of a modified tannin biofilm control agent is fed to the system water. The modified tannin biofilm control agent comprises a reaction product of an amine, an aldehyde and tannin and provides a good environmental profile.

Methods, kits, and systems for removing microbial biofilms from surfaces of objects (such as, e.g., explanted medical devices) are disclosed. The methods, kits, and systems rely on the use of acoustic energy in the presence of microbubbles to enhance biofilm removal while retaining viability of the microorganisms in the biofilm. The microbubbles may be provided in a variety of manners such as, e.g., vortexing a liquid, obtaining a suspension that includes pre-formed protein-stabilized microbubbles, etc.

A method and an apparatus is provided for increasing biofilm formation and power output in microbial fuel cells. An anode material in a microbial fuel cell has a three-dimensional and ordered structure. The anode material fills an entire anode compartment, and it is arranged to allow fluid flow within the anode compartment. The power output of microbial fuel cells is enhanced, primarily by increasing the formation and viability of electrogenic biofilms on the anodes of the microbial fuel cells. The anode material in a microbial fuel cell allows for the growth of a microbial biofilm to its natural thickness. In the instance of members of the Geobacteraceae family, the biofilm is able grow to a depth of about 40 microns.

The invention relates to substituted 2-aminoimidazoles and their imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidinium salts precursors being active against biofilm formation. The invention also relates to imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidinium salts bearing an azidoalkyl substituent, and to substituted 2-aminoimidazoles wherein the amino group bears a terminal heterocyclic group such as a triazolyl group which are formed through azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition starting from said imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidinium salts bearing an azidoalkyl substituent. The invention also relates to a class of N-(azidoalkyl)pyrimidin-2-amines useful as starting materials for the synthesis of said imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidinium salts bearing an azidoalkyl substituent. The invention also relates to antimicrobial compositions that include a microbial biofilm formation inhibiting amount of such substituted 2-aminoimidazoles or imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidinium salts in combination with excipients. Methods for inhibiting or controlling microbial biofilm formation in a plant, a body part of a human or an animal, or a surface with which a human or an animal may come into contact are also disclosed.

Disclosure is provided for methods of preventing, removing or inhibiting microbial biofilm formation or microbial infection in a plant or plant part thereof, including applying thereto a treatment effective amount of an active compound as described herein, or an agriculturally acceptable salt thereof. Methods of enhancing a microbicide (e.g., including a copper, antibiotic, bacteriophage, etc.) and / or plant defense activator are also provided, including applying an active compound as described herein. Compositions comprising an active compound as described herein in an agriculturally acceptable carrier are also provided, and in some embodiments the compositions further include a microbicide (e.g., including copper, antibiotic, bacteriophage, etc.) and / or plant defense activator.

Compositions and methods to treat biofilms are disclosed based on the discovery of the role of the disaccharide trehalose in microbial biofilm development. In various embodiments to treat body-borne biofilms systemically and locally, the method includes administering trehalase, the enzyme which degrades trehalose, in combination with other saccharidases for an exposition time sufficient to adequately degrade the biofilm gel matrix at the site of the biofilm. The method also includes administering a combination of other enzymes such as proteolytic, fibrinolytic, and lipolytic enzymes to break down proteins and lipids present in the biofilm, and administering antimicrobials for the specific type(s) of infectious pathogen(s) underlying the biofilm. Additionally, methods are disclosed to address degradation of biofilms on medical device surfaces and biofilms present in industrial settings.

The present invention provides a method for prophylaxis and therapy of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms present in biofilms adherent to cell surfaces comprising the step of administering to an individual in need thereof a composition comprising a combination of at least one compound chosen from the group of peroxidase, lactoferrin, lactoferrin peptides, lysozyme and immunoglobulins and at least one growth factor.

The invention discloses a preparation method and an application for a filling material applied to a combined triple-effect ecological floating bed. The invention is to improve water purifying abilityand nutrient supplying performance of a substrate in a conventional ecological floating bed. The filling material is prepared by compounding a hard solid filling material A and a polyurethane sponge soft filling material B. The preparation method comprises the following preparation processes: batching, mixing and granulating, drying, curing, cooling, and compounding and foaming. According to the invention, used raw materials are low in price; the manufacturing method is simple; and an obtained filling material has the advantages of large specific surface area, high porosity, good microbial biofilm-forming performance, strong nitrogen and phosphorus removal abilities, etc. The filling material is applied to the combined triple-effect ecological floating bed, and can greatly improve removalcapacity of a ecological floating bed device to nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient elements in a water body; and the filling material has nitrogen-phosphorus sustained-release properties, can provide astable nutrient supply environment for the growth of crops, and is extremely applicable to in-situ purification treatment of a eutrophic water body, specifically to purification of a water body with non-point source pollution in a farmland.

A process has been found which increases the efficiency and effectiveness of introducing antimicrobial compounds into complex biofilm matrices through the use of liposome carriers, thereby removing the biofouling in industrial water bearing systems, including piping, heat exchanges, condensers, filtration systems and fluid storage tanks. According to one embodiment of the invention, antimicrobial compound containing liposomes are added to water systems prone to biofouling and biofilm formation. The liposomes, being similar in composition to microbial membranes or cells, are readily incorporated into the existing biofilm. Once the antimicrobial compound containing liposomes become entrained with the biofilm matrix, the decomposition or programmed disintegration of the liposome proceeds. Thereafter, the biocidal aqueous core is released to react directly with the biofilm encased microorganisms. Upon the death of the organisms, the polysaccharide / protein matrix decomposes and thereby results in reduced fouling of the water bearing system, resulting in increased heat transfer, increased flux, less deposit of colloidal and particulate solids and dissolved organics on the surface of the microfiltration membrane, thereby reducing the frequency and duration of the membrane cleaning and ultimate replacement.

Disclosure is provided for methods of preventing, removing or inhibiting microbial biofilm formation or microbial infection in a plant or plant part thereof, including applying thereto a treatment effective amount of an active compound as described herein, or an agriculturally acceptable salt thereof. Methods of enhancing a microbicide (e.g., including a copper, antibiotic, bacteriophage, etc.) and / or plant defense activator are also provided, including applying an active compound as described herein. Compositions comprising an active compound as described herein in an agriculturally acceptable carrier are also provided, and in some embodiments the compositions further include a microbicide (e.g., including copper, antibiotic, bacteriophage, etc.) and / or plant defense activator.

The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having lactonohydrolase activity and isolated nucleic acid sequences encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the nucleic acid sequences as well as methods for producing and using the polypeptides. The present invention further relates to methods for preventing microbial biofilm development.

Cysteine amino-acid compound (or its analogues) used in the disruption of microbial biofilms by treatment of prevention of diseases generated by phytopathogenic bacteria attacking plants of agricultural interest represented by an innovative solution within the agriculture sector, where said compound can be used in the pharmacological form, as a drug associated with fertilizer for the combat of bacterial diseases which form microbial biofilms, such as citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC), citric canker’, huanlongbing (HLB) disease or ‘greening’, amongst other, which inventive concept, as such, never before completed, resides in the benefit deriving from the cysteine amino-acid, and all of its analogues, in the inhibitory action and progressive disruption of the microbial biofilm thus liberating the nutritive flux and hydration of the root to the upper part of the plant and the subsequent regression of the disease symptoms, with the added advantage that the cysteine amino-acid compound is non-toxic, guaranteeing healthy production of foods by plants of agricultural interest that are totally healthy, without toxic residues in their composition, as well as when said compound is applied there is risk to the environment due to the rapid absorption, notably within the area in which it is applied, where such predicates of disease combat, with the exception of toxic collateral effects still guarantee that the final crop and harvest will have a higher productivity per hectare.

Compositions and methods to treat biofilms are disclosed based on the discovery of the role of the disaccharide trehalose in microbial biofilm development. In various embodiments to treat body-borne biofilms systemically and locally, the method includes administering trehalase, the enzyme which degrades trehalose, in combination with other saccharidases for an exposition time sufficient to adequately degrade the biofilm gel matrix at the site of the biofilm. The method also includes administering a combination of other enzymes such as proteolytic, fibrinolytic, and lipolytic enzymes to break down proteins and lipids present in the biofilm, and administering antimicrobials for the specific type(s) of infectious pathogen(s) underlying the biofilm. Additionally, methods are disclosed to address degradation of biofilms on medical device surfaces and biofilms present in industrial settings.

The invention relates to the field of sewage treatment, in particular to a domestic sewage treating agent. The domestic sewage treating agent is prepared from, by mass, 5-15 parts of aluminum chloride, 60-150 parts of kieselguhr, 20-60 parts of ferric sulfate, 5-15 parts of dithiocarbamate, 5-10 parts of chitosan, 3-8 parts of caustic soda flakes and 2-6 parts of a microbial biofilm. The domestic sewage treating agent is high in treating efficiency and good in treating effect, treated sewage can reach the emission standard, and environmental pollution can be avoided.

A wastewater treatment system has two separate but interlinked tanks containing four different zones, namely aerobic, microaerophilic, anoxic and anaerobic, for the biological treatment of the wastewater, as well as two clarification zones and a filtration unit for separation of solids from liquid. The first tank contains the aerobic, microaerophilic and anoxic zone as well as a clarification zone, while the second dank includes the anaerobic zone, a solid-liquid separation zone and a filtration unit. The aerobic zone is an airlift reactor that contains air diffusers at the bottom of the zone to introduce air into the zone. The air bubbles mix the liquid and its content of microorganisms, and provide oxygen for the aerobic biological processes that take place in this zone. Aeration also produces circulation of liquid between the aerobic zone and its adjacent microaerophilic and anoxic zones that are located at the sides and under the aerobic zone, respectively. The aerobic zone contains suspended microorganisms of heterotrophic and autotrophic groups that grow inside the circulating liquid, known as mixed liquor. Within the volume of the aerobic zone, loose carrier material or stationary objects are disposed to support the attachment of microbial biomass and the formation of microbial biofilm.

The present invention relates to oral care compositions and methods of inhibiting microbial biofilm formation and / or degrading a microbial biofilm. Disclosed herein are oral care compositions comprising an Amadori compound having a glucose moiety and an amino acid moiety. The Amadori compound has use for inhibiting oral microbial biofilm formation and / or degrading an oral microbial biofilm in the oral cavity of a mammalian subject.

Compositions comprising an isolated peptide, which may for example optionally comprise a sequence selected from the group consisting of YDYNWY (SEQ ID NO: 1), YDYNLY (SEQ ID NO: 2), YDYSFY (SEQ ID NO: 63), FDYNFY (SEQ ID NO: 3), FDYNLY (SEQ ID NO: 4), FDYNWY (SEQ ID NO: 5), YDWNLY (SEQ ID NO: 6), YDWHLY (SEQ ID NO: 7) and WDYNLY (SEQ ID NO: 8), extracted from organisms such as aquatic organisms and moss or any other sequence described herein, and methods of using same, including for treatment of or prevention of formation of microbial biofilms and against adhesion of a cell to a surface.