The development of microbiological biofilms greatly reduces the efficacy of antibiotic therapies and is a serious problem
in chronic infection and for implantable medical devices. We investigated the potential of superparamagnetic
nanoparticles to increase transport through in vitro models of alginate biofilms. An in vitro alginate biofilm model was
developed to mimic the composition of in vivo samples of P. aeruginosa infections. Transport through this model
biofilm was performed using both bulk diffusion methods and single particle tracking techniques in the presence and
absence of an external magnetic field. Bulk diffusion of nanoparticles through the biofilm was significantly enhanced in
the presence of a magnetic field, both visually and quantitatively. Nanoparticle trajectories also showed transport
increases were significantly higher when magnetic fields were applied. We also showed that surface chemistry (cationic,
anioni, or neutral) of the nanoparticles significantly influenced transport rates. Finally, nanoparticle size also influenced
the transport rates and variability of transport rates through the biofilm. In these first studies using magnetic
nanoparticles in bacterial biofilms, we demonstrate that transport enhancement can be achieved and further studies are
warranted.
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