Synthetic Polymers Promote Biofilm Formation and Increase Efficiency of Biocatalysis

A novel technique to boost biocatalysis's effectiveness has been discovered by researchers from the University of Birmingham. A publication outlining their procedure was released in the journal Materials Horizons today, August 1, 2022.

Enzymes, cells, or microorganisms are used in biocatalysis to catalyze chemical processes. It is employed to create goods that cannot be produced by chemical synthesis in sectors like the food and chemical ones. On a large scale, it can create medications, fine chemicals, or food additives.

The fact that the most often utilized microorganisms, such probiotics and non-pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli, frequently perform poorly at producing biofilms presents a significant difficulty in biocatalysis. These habitats that encourage development create a safe microenvironment for populations of bacteria and boost their toughness. In order to increase production, biofilms are crucial.

Usually, genetic engineering is used to address this issue. But doing so is frequently expensive and time-consuming. As a result, scientists Dr. Francisco Fernández Trillo from the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham and Dr. Tim Overton from the School of Chemical Engineering, both of whom are affiliated with the Institute of Microbiology and Infection, set out to develop an alternative technique to get around this process.

The researchers found a collection of synthetic polymers and tested them to see if they might cause the bacteria E. coli, one of the most extensively researched microorganisms and a major component of biocatalysis, to form biofilms.

In this screening, an E. coli strain (MC4100) that is frequently used in basic research to investigate genes and proteins and is known to be bad at generating biofilms was compared to an isogenic, evolved E. coli strain (PHL644) that is strong at creating biofilms.

The chemicals that are most effective in promoting biofilm development were identified through this screening. Mildly cationic polymers were surpassed by hydrophobic polymers, while the comparable aliphatic polymers were significantly outperformed by aromatic and heteroaromatic derivatives.

When both strains were cultured in the presence of these polymers, the researchers continued to monitor their biomass and biocatalytic activity and discovered that MC4100 was on par with PHL644 in both areas.

Additional research looked at how the polymers induced these significant increases in activity. In this case, the research showed that the polymers precipitate in solution and function as coagulants, causing flocculation, a natural process that causes bacteria to build biofilms, to be stimulated.

"We examined a vast chemical space and discovered the best-performing chemistries and polymers that enhance the biocatalytic activity of E. coli, a workhorse in biotechnology," explained Dr. Fernandez-Trillo. This has led to the development of a limited library of synthetic polymers that, when added simply to microbial cultures, promote the production of biofilms. To the best of our knowledge, there are presently no techniques for creating biofilms for helpful bacteria that are as straightforward and adaptable.

"These synthetic polymers may eliminate the requirement to introduce the features for biofilm development by gene editing, which is pricy, time-consuming, non-reversible, and necessitates the implementation of a professional microbiologist. This strategy, in our opinion, has implications beyond biofilms for biocatalysis. Using a similar approach, new applications in food science, agriculture, bioremediation, or health may be created by identifying suitable polymers for various bacteria like probiotics or yeasts.