Textile and Apparel Science

Study of Bacterial Components Activating a Colorimetric Transition in Bacteria-Detecting Nanofiber Wound Dressing Applications

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Abstract

Polydiacetylene (PDA) is a popular macromolecule in biosensing applications. PDA-based nanofiber composite can detect pathogenic bacteria rapidly via visible blue-to-red color transition in the fiber, offering huge potential to prepare smart wound dressing that can detect bacterial infection in the wound. Due to the complexity of the bacterial culture, identifying the responsible bacterial component that triggers such color change in the PDA nanofiber composite is challenging. In this study, polyurethane(PU)-PDA nanofiber composite was prepared via electrospinning and tested with different culture components of Escherichia coli (E. coli). The sensitivity of the nanofiber composite was evaluated against E. coli and organic solvents. The results from the experiments showed that the colorimetric transition in PU-PDA nanofiber composite was not bacterial cell-associated, rather the secretions bacteria produced during the growth phase changed the color of the nanofibers. Further experiments confirmed that the color-changing substance (CCS) is the free extra-cellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by bacteria during the growth phase. Additional experiments indicated that the CCS undergoes a time-dependent decay and may not be produced when bacteria receive minimal nutrition during culture. The outcome of this study advanced the understanding of the color-changing component in a bacterial culture that can help improve the biosensing applications of PDA nanofiber composite. 

Keywords: wound-dressing, Color-changing substance, Biosensor, Extra-cellular polymeric substance, Escherichia coli, Polydiacetylene

How to Cite:

Bhattacharjee, A., Clark, R., Gentry-Weeks, C. & Li, Y. V., (2020) “Study of Bacterial Components Activating a Colorimetric Transition in Bacteria-Detecting Nanofiber Wound Dressing Applications”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.12123