The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Comparison of polyvinyl chloride membrane electrodes sensitive to alkylphosphonium ions for the determination of the electrical difference (ΔΨ) of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei

Comparison of polyvinyl chloride membrane electrodes sensitive to alkylphosphonium ions for the determination of the electrical difference (ΔΨ) of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei
Comparison of polyvinyl chloride membrane electrodes sensitive to alkylphosphonium ions for the determination of the electrical difference (ΔΨ) of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei

Polyvinyl chloride membrane electrodes sensitive to tetraphenyl phosphonium (TPP+), butyltriphenyl phosphonium (bTPP+), and methyltriphenyl phosphonium (mTPP+) ions have been compared for the determination of the electrical potential difference (ΔΨ) of the oral bacteria, Streptococcus mutans DR0001 6 and Lactobacillus casei RB1014. All three types of electrode proved suitable for determining Δ,gY, although the TPP+-sensitive electrode was particularly susceptible to interference by protonmotive force (Δp) dissipators known to inhibit sugar uptake by the bacteria. The mTPP+-sensitive electrode was the least affected. Similarly, both strains had high nonspecific binding capacity for TPP+ and bTPP+ ions, and this increased for all three ions when the bacteria were heated to 80°C for 1 h to abolish glucose uptake and metabolism. This heat-treatment procedure is therefore not a suitable control for determination of nonspecific binding to cells. However, 1% ( v v) toluene, 20 μm gramicidin, or 10 μm valinomycin effectively depolarized the bacteria without interfering with nonspecific binding. The ionophores were therefore used subsequently for the determination of nonspecific binding of the lipid-soluble cations. The mTPP+ ion and corresponding electrode proved the most effective system, and ΔΨ values of -89 and -107 mV were obtained for S. mutans and L. casei, respectively, harvested from glucose-limited continuous cultures and incubated in 100 mm Hepes-KOH buffer (pH 7.0), containing 1 mm dithiothreitol and 10 mm glucose. Although the ΔΨ of S. mutans decreased significantly in the presence of Mes-KOH and potassium phosphate buffers at pH 7.0, it increased to -119 mV in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.0). Addition of 100 mm KCl to the Tris buffer showed that the inhibiting effects of the former buffers resulted from their high K+ content. Glucose uptake and acid production by both strains was also markedly inhibited by high concentrations of Na+. The measuring system revealed that the ΔΨ of both strains decreased by up to 50% in the presence of 100 mm Na+, supporting the proposed role for Na+ in the deenergization of Δp in oral bacteria.

0003-2697
228-236
Keevil, C. William
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb
Hamilton, Ian R.
1c2c1f41-2b03-4988-9b26-3ad5e589af5e
Keevil, C. William
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb
Hamilton, Ian R.
1c2c1f41-2b03-4988-9b26-3ad5e589af5e

Keevil, C. William and Hamilton, Ian R. (1984) Comparison of polyvinyl chloride membrane electrodes sensitive to alkylphosphonium ions for the determination of the electrical difference (ΔΨ) of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei. Analytical Biochemistry, 139 (1), 228-236. (doi:10.1016/0003-2697(84)90410-X).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Polyvinyl chloride membrane electrodes sensitive to tetraphenyl phosphonium (TPP+), butyltriphenyl phosphonium (bTPP+), and methyltriphenyl phosphonium (mTPP+) ions have been compared for the determination of the electrical potential difference (ΔΨ) of the oral bacteria, Streptococcus mutans DR0001 6 and Lactobacillus casei RB1014. All three types of electrode proved suitable for determining Δ,gY, although the TPP+-sensitive electrode was particularly susceptible to interference by protonmotive force (Δp) dissipators known to inhibit sugar uptake by the bacteria. The mTPP+-sensitive electrode was the least affected. Similarly, both strains had high nonspecific binding capacity for TPP+ and bTPP+ ions, and this increased for all three ions when the bacteria were heated to 80°C for 1 h to abolish glucose uptake and metabolism. This heat-treatment procedure is therefore not a suitable control for determination of nonspecific binding to cells. However, 1% ( v v) toluene, 20 μm gramicidin, or 10 μm valinomycin effectively depolarized the bacteria without interfering with nonspecific binding. The ionophores were therefore used subsequently for the determination of nonspecific binding of the lipid-soluble cations. The mTPP+ ion and corresponding electrode proved the most effective system, and ΔΨ values of -89 and -107 mV were obtained for S. mutans and L. casei, respectively, harvested from glucose-limited continuous cultures and incubated in 100 mm Hepes-KOH buffer (pH 7.0), containing 1 mm dithiothreitol and 10 mm glucose. Although the ΔΨ of S. mutans decreased significantly in the presence of Mes-KOH and potassium phosphate buffers at pH 7.0, it increased to -119 mV in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.0). Addition of 100 mm KCl to the Tris buffer showed that the inhibiting effects of the former buffers resulted from their high K+ content. Glucose uptake and acid production by both strains was also markedly inhibited by high concentrations of Na+. The measuring system revealed that the ΔΨ of both strains decreased by up to 50% in the presence of 100 mm Na+, supporting the proposed role for Na+ in the deenergization of Δp in oral bacteria.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 15 May 1984

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 431315
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431315
ISSN: 0003-2697
PURE UUID: 4b21639a-e779-4d57-889a-23e223e27975
ORCID for C. William Keevil: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1917-7706

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 29 May 2019 16:30
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:54

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Ian R. Hamilton

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×