Fermentor-stabilized activated sludge from an industrial beverage bottling plant was grown on three different food sources: normal plant wastewater, plant wastewater containing high sucrose concentrations, and a synthetic glucose-based feed stock. Surface charge, hydrophobicity, and exopolysaccharide composition were measured on the stabilized bacterial flocs. Cell surface charge was measured b...

UNLABELLED The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the effect of the high molecular weight chitosan (HMWC) and of sodium alginate (NaAL) on surface hydrophobicity of Candida albicans and on adhesion of the yeast to epithelial cells and fibroblasts of different proceeding. For this study, a collection strain and seven isolates of C. albicans from saliva (patients with denture stomatitis) wer...

The Hansch equation is a key mathematical relationship and a conceptual guiding principle (QSAR) in the practice of modern medicinal chemistry. Recent years have apparently witnessed a debate on the utility of QSAR, hence it seems opportune to explore its fundamental origins. The Hansch equation leads to a parabolic relationship between drug activity and hydrophobicity. Currently, this is expla...

Many studies have shown relationships of substratum hydrophobicity, charge or roughness with bacterial adhesion, although bacterial adhesion is governed by interplay of different physico-chemical properties and multiple regression analysis would be more suitable to reveal mechanisms of bacterial adhesion. The formation of a conditioning film of organic compounds adsorbed from seawater affects t...

Amyloids characterized by unbounded growth of fibrillar structures cause many pathological processes. Such unbounded propagation is due to the presence of a propagating hydrophobicity field around the fibril's main axis, preventing its closure (unlike in globular proteins). Interestingly, similar fragments, commonly referred to as solenoids, are present in many naturally occurring proteins, whe...

To investigate the importance of increased hydrophobicity at the amino end of antimicrobial peptides, a dermaseptin derivative was used as a template for a systematic acylation study. Through a gradual increase of the acyl moiety chain length, hydrophobicity was monitored and further modulated by acyl conversion to aminoacyl. The chain lengths of the acyl derivatives correlated with a gradual i...

Contamination of kitchen surfaces due to bacteria present in foodstuffs is one of the main causes of foodborne outbreaks. Salmonella infections are an important cause of foodborne disease, and Salmonella Enteritidis is the most common isolate in the past few years. In this study, the adhesion ability of four Salmonella Enteritidis isolates to different materials (polyethylene, polypropylene, an...

Adhesion of Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia to four materials of different surface charge and hydrophobicity was investigated. Glass beads were used with and without three polymer coatings: aminosilines (A0750), fluorosilines (T2494), an amino cationic polymer. Surface charge density and hydrophobicity of the beads were characterized by measuring the zeta potential (ZP) and the conta...

The cell surface hydrophobicity and adhesion to abiotic and cellular surfaces was tested in five clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from catheter tips. Biochemical and molecular characteristics of these strains were also studied. Hydrophobicity was characterized by a test for affinity to xylene. Adhesion to abiotic surfaces (polystyrene, formica, latex and glass) was evaluated...

Silica monolith aerogels with different degrees of hydrophobicity by incorporating methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) or trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) in standard sol-gel synthesis were prepared. Excellent properties of aerogels, obtained with the sol-gel synthesis, were preserved with supercritical drying with CO2. The degree of hydrophobicity of the aerogels was tested by measuring the contact angl...