Monday, February 8, 2010 - 09:05PM
Effect of unassembled phage protein complexes on the attachment to cellulose of genetically modified bacteriophages containing cellulose binding modules
Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, Volume 76, Issue 2, 1 April 2010, Pages 529-534
Zhuo Li, Mona Tolba, Mansel Griffiths and Theo G.M. van de Ven
a Department of Chemistry, Pulp & Paper Research Centre, McGill University, 3420 University Street, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2A7
b Department of Food Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
Received 30 October 2009;
accepted 16 December 2009.
Available online 24 December 2009.
Abstract
One way to make bioactive paper is to incorporate in it bacteriophages, which can capture and deactivate bacteria. The release of newly assembled phages from lysed bacteria can also serve as a measure of the number of bacteria that were deactivated. We have studied the deposition of genetically modified phages, containing cellulose binding modules, on model cellulose surfaces by evanescent wave light scattering. It was shown that unassembled protein complexes, released with the phages during the lysis of bacteria, limit the deposition of phages to about one per 10–20 μm2, as there are far more unassembled protein complexes than phages. The implication is that a few thousand phages can attach to a cellulose fiber, with most of the surface area taken up by protein complexes. This is more than sufficient for the production of bioactive paper. The unassembled protein complexes may be beneficial, as they will prevent non-specific deposition of bacteria. Thus, it may not be necessary to separate the protein complexes from phages in an expensive purification operation.
Keywords: Bioactive paper; Genetically modified viruses; Bacteriophage; Virus deposition; Cellulose binding domain
