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Shear stress, temperature and inoculation concentration influence on the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to stainless steel 304 and polypropylene

Shear stress, temperature and inoculation concentration influence on the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to stainless steel 304 and polypropylene
Shear stress, temperature and inoculation concentration influence on the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to stainless steel 304 and polypropylene
Although molecular techniques have identified Helicobacter pylori in drinking water-associated biofilms, there is a lack of studies reporting what factors affect the attachment of the bacterium to plumbing materials. Therefore, the adhesion of H. pylori suspended in distilled water to stainless steel 304 (SS304) coupons placed on tissue culture plates subjected to different environmental conditions was monitored. The extent of adhesion was evaluated for different water exposure times, using epifluorescence microscopy to count total cell numbers. High shear stresses-estimated through computational fluid dynamics-negatively influenced the adhesion of H. pylori to the substrata (P < 0.001), a result that was confirmed in similar experiments with polypropylene (P < 0.05). However, the temperature and inoculation concentration appeared to have no effect on adhesion (P > 0.05). After 2 hours, H. pylori cells appeared to be isolated on the surface of SS304 and were able to form small aggregates with longer exposure times. However, the formation of a three-dimensional structure was only very rarely observed. This study suggests that the detection of the pathogen in well water described by other authors can be related to the increased ability of H. pylori to integrate into biofilms under conditions of low shear stress. It will also allow a more rational selection of locations to perform molecular or plate culture analysis for the detection of H. pylori in drinking water-associated biofilms.
0099-2240
2936-2941
Azevedo, N.F.
c90d7c41-e45a-404d-9472-9d0b411448e7
Pinto, A.R.
1bdc6c93-adea-4866-9af9-f869135495da
Reis, N.M.
0cbd0aea-16f5-4b9d-a598-ef16b3b16c8a
Vieira, M.J.
b13909e0-b086-49fc-b589-3fb9d2a02577
Keevil, C.W.
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb
Azevedo, N.F.
c90d7c41-e45a-404d-9472-9d0b411448e7
Pinto, A.R.
1bdc6c93-adea-4866-9af9-f869135495da
Reis, N.M.
0cbd0aea-16f5-4b9d-a598-ef16b3b16c8a
Vieira, M.J.
b13909e0-b086-49fc-b589-3fb9d2a02577
Keevil, C.W.
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb

Azevedo, N.F., Pinto, A.R., Reis, N.M., Vieira, M.J. and Keevil, C.W. (2006) Shear stress, temperature and inoculation concentration influence on the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to stainless steel 304 and polypropylene. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72 (4), 2936-2941. (doi:10.1128/AEM.72.4.2936-2941.2006).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Although molecular techniques have identified Helicobacter pylori in drinking water-associated biofilms, there is a lack of studies reporting what factors affect the attachment of the bacterium to plumbing materials. Therefore, the adhesion of H. pylori suspended in distilled water to stainless steel 304 (SS304) coupons placed on tissue culture plates subjected to different environmental conditions was monitored. The extent of adhesion was evaluated for different water exposure times, using epifluorescence microscopy to count total cell numbers. High shear stresses-estimated through computational fluid dynamics-negatively influenced the adhesion of H. pylori to the substrata (P < 0.001), a result that was confirmed in similar experiments with polypropylene (P < 0.05). However, the temperature and inoculation concentration appeared to have no effect on adhesion (P > 0.05). After 2 hours, H. pylori cells appeared to be isolated on the surface of SS304 and were able to form small aggregates with longer exposure times. However, the formation of a three-dimensional structure was only very rarely observed. This study suggests that the detection of the pathogen in well water described by other authors can be related to the increased ability of H. pylori to integrate into biofilms under conditions of low shear stress. It will also allow a more rational selection of locations to perform molecular or plate culture analysis for the detection of H. pylori in drinking water-associated biofilms.

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Published date: 2006

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 44185
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/44185
ISSN: 0099-2240
PURE UUID: 7037de77-43b1-4d31-b8ad-a4b6159a9d17
ORCID for C.W. Keevil: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1917-7706

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Date deposited: 19 Feb 2007
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:24

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Contributors

Author: N.F. Azevedo
Author: A.R. Pinto
Author: N.M. Reis
Author: M.J. Vieira
Author: C.W. Keevil ORCID iD

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