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Polymer-Coated Urinary Catheter Reduces Biofilm Formation and Biomineralization: A First-in-Man, Prospective Pilot Study (2024)
Journal Article
Kalenderski, K., Dubern, J., Lewis-Lloyd, C., Jeffery, N., Heeb, S., Irvine, D. J., …Williams, P. (2024). Polymer-Coated Urinary Catheter Reduces Biofilm Formation and Biomineralization: A First-in-Man, Prospective Pilot Study. Journal of Urology Open PLus, 2(1), Article e00005. https://doi.org/10.1097/JU9.0000000000000097

Purpose: Biofilm formation and biomineralization on urinary catheters may cause severe complications including infection and obstruction. Here, we describe an in vitro evaluation and prospective pilot clinical study of a silicone catheter coated with... Read More about Polymer-Coated Urinary Catheter Reduces Biofilm Formation and Biomineralization: A First-in-Man, Prospective Pilot Study.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of New 1H-Benzo[d]imidazole Based PqsR Inhibitors as Adjuvant Therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections (2024)
Journal Article
Soukarieh, F., Mashabi, A., Richardson, W., Oton, E. V., Romero, M., Dubern, J., …Cámara, M. (2024). Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of New 1H-Benzo[d]imidazole Based PqsR Inhibitors as Adjuvant Therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 67(2), 1008-1023. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00973

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the top priority pathogens that requires immediate attention according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Due to the alarming shortage of novel antimicrobials, targeting quorum sensing (QS), a bacterial cell to c... Read More about Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of New 1H-Benzo[d]imidazole Based PqsR Inhibitors as Adjuvant Therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections.

Toward Comprehensive Analysis of the 3D Chemistry of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms (2023)
Journal Article
Kotowska, A. M., Zhang, J., Carabelli, A., Watts, J., Aylott, J. W., Gilmore, I. S., …Alexander, M. R. (2023). Toward Comprehensive Analysis of the 3D Chemistry of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. Analytical Chemistry, 95(49), 18287-18294. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c04443

Bacterial biofilms are structured communities consisting of cells enmeshed in a self-generated extracellular matrix usually attached to a surface. They contain diverse classes of molecules including polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, a... Read More about Toward Comprehensive Analysis of the 3D Chemistry of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms.

Modelled-Microgravity Reduces Virulence Factor Production in Staphylococcus aureus through Downregulation of agr-Dependent Quorum Sensing (2023)
Journal Article
Green, M. J., Murray, E. J., Williams, P., Ghaemmaghami, A. M., Aylott, J. W., & Williams, P. M. (2023). Modelled-Microgravity Reduces Virulence Factor Production in Staphylococcus aureus through Downregulation of agr-Dependent Quorum Sensing. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(21), Article 15997. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242115997

Bacterial contamination during space missions is problematic for human health and damages filters and other vital support systems. Staphylococcus aureus is both a human commensal and an opportunistic pathogen that colonizes human tissues and causes a... Read More about Modelled-Microgravity Reduces Virulence Factor Production in Staphylococcus aureus through Downregulation of agr-Dependent Quorum Sensing.

RsaL-driven negative regulation promotes heterogeneity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing (2023)
Journal Article
Mellini, M., Letizia, M., Caruso, L., Guiducci, A., Meneghini, C., Heeb, S., …Rampioni, G. (2023). RsaL-driven negative regulation promotes heterogeneity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing. mBio, 14(6), Article e02039-23. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02039-23

In its canonical interpretation, quorum sensing (QS) allows single cells in a bacterial population to synchronize gene expression and hence perform specific tasks collectively once the quorum cell density is reached. However, growing evidence in diff... Read More about RsaL-driven negative regulation promotes heterogeneity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing.

Reciprocal regulation of NagC and quorum sensing systems and their roles in hmsHFRS expression and biofilm formation in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (2023)
Journal Article
Wiechmann, A., Garcia, V., Elton, L., Williams, P., & Atkinson, S. (2023). Reciprocal regulation of NagC and quorum sensing systems and their roles in hmsHFRS expression and biofilm formation in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Microbiology, 169(10), Article 001397. https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001397

Biofilm formation by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is regulated by quorum sensing (QS) and dependent on the haemin storage locus hms, required for the extracellular polysaccharide poly-N-acetylglucosamine (poly-GlcNAc) production. In Escherichia coli N... Read More about Reciprocal regulation of NagC and quorum sensing systems and their roles in hmsHFRS expression and biofilm formation in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

Quorum-sensing, intra- and inter-species competition in the staphylococci (2023)
Journal Article
Williams, P., Hill, P., Bonev, B., & Chan, W. C. (2023). Quorum-sensing, intra- and inter-species competition in the staphylococci. Microbiology, 169(8), https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001381

In Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and the coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), the accessory gene regulator (agr) is a highly conserved but polymorphic quorum-sensing system involved in colonization, virulence and biofilm de... Read More about Quorum-sensing, intra- and inter-species competition in the staphylococci.

Identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exopolysaccharide Psl in biofilms using 3D OrbiSIMS (2023)
Journal Article
Khateb, H., Hook, A. L., Kern, S., Watts, J. A., Singh, S., Jackson, D., …Alexander, M. R. (2023). Identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exopolysaccharide Psl in biofilms using 3D OrbiSIMS. Biointerphases, 18(3), Article 031007. https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0002604

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) offers advantages over both liquid extraction mass spectrometry and matrix assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry in that it provides the direct in situ analysis of molecules and has the potential to preser... Read More about Identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exopolysaccharide Psl in biofilms using 3D OrbiSIMS.

Alkyl-quinolone-dependent quorum sensing controls prophage-mediated autolysis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa colony biofilms (2023)
Journal Article
Giallonardi, G., Letizia, M., Mellini, M., Frangipani, E., Halliday, N., Heeb, S., …Rampioni, G. (2023). Alkyl-quinolone-dependent quorum sensing controls prophage-mediated autolysis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa colony biofilms. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 13, Article 1183681. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1183681

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a model quorum sensing (QS) pathogen with three interconnected QS circuits that control the production of virulence factors and antibiotic tolerant biofilms. The pqs QS system of P. aeruginosa is responsible for the biosynth... Read More about Alkyl-quinolone-dependent quorum sensing controls prophage-mediated autolysis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa colony biofilms.

Conformational analysis and interaction of the Staphylococcus aureus transmembrane peptidase AgrB with its AgrD propeptide substrate (2023)
Journal Article
Bardelang, P., Murray, E. J., Blower, I., Zandomeneghi, S., Goode, A., Hussain, R., …Bonev, B. B. (2023). Conformational analysis and interaction of the Staphylococcus aureus transmembrane peptidase AgrB with its AgrD propeptide substrate. Frontiers in Chemistry, 11, Article 1113885. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2023.1113885

Virulence gene expression in the human pathogen, S. aureus is regulated by the agr (accessory gene regulator) quorum sensing (QS) system which is conserved in diverse Gram-positive bacteria. The agr QS signal molecule is an autoinducing peptide (AIP)... Read More about Conformational analysis and interaction of the Staphylococcus aureus transmembrane peptidase AgrB with its AgrD propeptide substrate.

Growth rate and nutrient limitation as key drivers of extracellular quorum sensing signal molecule accumulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2023)
Journal Article
Dubern, J., Halliday, N., Cámara, M., Winzer, K., Barrett, D. A., Hardie, K. R., & Williams, P. (2023). Growth rate and nutrient limitation as key drivers of extracellular quorum sensing signal molecule accumulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiology, 169(4), Article 001316. https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001316

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, quorum sensing (QS) depends on an interconnected regulatory hierarchy involving the Las, Rhl and Pqs systems, which are collectively responsible for the co-ordinated synthesis of a diverse repertoire of N-acylhomoserine lac... Read More about Growth rate and nutrient limitation as key drivers of extracellular quorum sensing signal molecule accumulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Shapeshifting bullvalene-linked vancomycin dimers as effective antibiotics against multidrug-resistant gram-positive bacteria (2023)
Journal Article
Ottonello, A., Wyllie, J. A., Yahiaoui, O., Sun, S., Koelln, R. A., Homer, J. A., …Moses, J. E. (2023). Shapeshifting bullvalene-linked vancomycin dimers as effective antibiotics against multidrug-resistant gram-positive bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(15), Article e2208737120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2208737120

The alarming rise in superbugs that are resistant to drugs of last resort, including vancomycin-resistant enterococci and staphylococci, has become a significant global health hazard. Here, we report the click chemistry synthesis of an unprecedented... Read More about Shapeshifting bullvalene-linked vancomycin dimers as effective antibiotics against multidrug-resistant gram-positive bacteria.

Linear Binary Classifier to Predict Bacterial Biofilm Formation on Polyacrylates (2023)
Journal Article
Contreas, L., Hook, A. L., Winkler, D. A., Figueredo, G., Williams, P., Laughton, C. A., …Williams, P. M. (2023). Linear Binary Classifier to Predict Bacterial Biofilm Formation on Polyacrylates. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 15(11), 14155-14163. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c23182

Bacterial infections are increasingly problematic due to the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Consequently, the rational design of materials naturally resistant to biofilm formation is an important strategy for preventing medical device-associated i... Read More about Linear Binary Classifier to Predict Bacterial Biofilm Formation on Polyacrylates.

Exploring the Relationship between Polymer Surface Chemistry and Bacterial Attachment Using ToF-SIMS and Self-Organizing maps (2023)
Journal Article
Wong, S. Y., Hook, A. L., Gardner, W., Chang, C., Mei, Y., Davies, M. C., …Pigram, P. J. (2023). Exploring the Relationship between Polymer Surface Chemistry and Bacterial Attachment Using ToF-SIMS and Self-Organizing maps. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 10(9), Article 2202334. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202202334

Biofilm formation is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. Research into biofilm-resistant materials is therefore critical to reduce the frequency of these events. Polymer microarrays offer a high-throughput approach to enable the efficient... Read More about Exploring the Relationship between Polymer Surface Chemistry and Bacterial Attachment Using ToF-SIMS and Self-Organizing maps.

Discovery of a polymer resistant to bacterial biofilm, swarming, and encrustation (2023)
Journal Article
Dubern, J. F., Hook, A. L., Carabelli, A. M., Chang, C. Y., Lewis-Lloyd, C. A., Luckett, J. C., …Williams, P. (2023). Discovery of a polymer resistant to bacterial biofilm, swarming, and encrustation. Science Advances, 9(4), Article eadd7474. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add7474

Innovative approaches to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are urgently required. Here, we describe the discovery of an acrylate copolymer capable of resisting single- and multispecies bacterial biofilm formation, swarming... Read More about Discovery of a polymer resistant to bacterial biofilm, swarming, and encrustation.

Predictive Molecular Design and Structure–Property Validation of Novel Terpene-Based, Sustainably Sourced Bacterial Biofilm-Resistant Materials (2023)
Journal Article
Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Ilchev, A., Moore, J. C., Fowler, H. R., Dubern, J., Sanni, O., …Irvine, D. J. (2023). Predictive Molecular Design and Structure–Property Validation of Novel Terpene-Based, Sustainably Sourced Bacterial Biofilm-Resistant Materials. Biomacromolecules, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00721

Presented in this work is the use of a molecular descriptor, termed the α parameter, to aid in the design of a series of novel, terpene-based, and sustainable polymers that were resistant to biofilm formation by the model bacterial pathogen Pseudomon... Read More about Predictive Molecular Design and Structure–Property Validation of Novel Terpene-Based, Sustainably Sourced Bacterial Biofilm-Resistant Materials.

ToxR is a c-di-GMP binding protein that modulates surface-associated behaviour in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2022)
Journal Article
Camara, M., Dubern, J., Romero, M., Mai-Prochnow, A., Messina, M., Trampari, E., …Heeb, S. (2022). ToxR is a c-di-GMP binding protein that modulates surface-associated behaviour in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, 8, Article 64. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-022-00325-9

Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses multiple protein regulators that work in tandem to control the production of a wide range of virulence factors and facilitate rapid adaptation to diverse environmental conditions. In this opportunistic pathogen, ToxR was k... Read More about ToxR is a c-di-GMP binding protein that modulates surface-associated behaviour in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A Pseudomonas aeruginosa PQS quorum-sensing system inhibitor with anti-staphylococcal activity sensitizes polymicrobial biofilms to tobramycin (2022)
Journal Article
Murray, E. J., Dubern, J., Chan, W. C., Chhabra, S. R., & Williams, P. (2022). A Pseudomonas aeruginosa PQS quorum-sensing system inhibitor with anti-staphylococcal activity sensitizes polymicrobial biofilms to tobramycin. Cell Chemical Biology, 29(7), 1187-1199.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2022.02.007

As single- and mixed-species biofilms, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa cause difficult-to-eradicate chronic infections. In P. aeruginosa, pseudomonas quinolone (PQS)-dependent quorum sensing regulates virulence and biofilm developmen... Read More about A Pseudomonas aeruginosa PQS quorum-sensing system inhibitor with anti-staphylococcal activity sensitizes polymicrobial biofilms to tobramycin.

Whole-genome sequencing and gene sharing network analysis powered by machine learning identifies antibiotic resistance sharing between animals, humans and environment in livestock farming (2022)
Journal Article
Peng, Z., Maciel-Guerra, A., Baker, M., Zhang, X., Hu, Y., Wang, W., …Dottorini, T. (2022). Whole-genome sequencing and gene sharing network analysis powered by machine learning identifies antibiotic resistance sharing between animals, humans and environment in livestock farming. PLoS Computational Biology, 18(3), Article e1010018. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010018

Anthropogenic environments such as those created by intensive farming of livestock, have been proposed to provide ideal selection pressure for the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs... Read More about Whole-genome sequencing and gene sharing network analysis powered by machine learning identifies antibiotic resistance sharing between animals, humans and environment in livestock farming.

Porphyromonas pasteri and Prevotella nanceiensis in the sputum microbiota are associated with increased decline in lung function in individuals with cystic fibrosis (2022)
Journal Article
Webb, K., Zain, N. M. M., Stewart, I., Fogarty, A., Nash, E. F., Whitehouse, J. L., …Barr, H. L. (2022). Porphyromonas pasteri and Prevotella nanceiensis in the sputum microbiota are associated with increased decline in lung function in individuals with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 71(2), Article 001481. https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001481

Although anaerobic bacteria exist in abundance in cystic fibrosis (CF) airways, their role in disease progression is poorly understood. We hypothesized that the presence and relative abundance of the most prevalent, live, anaerobic bacteria in sputum... Read More about Porphyromonas pasteri and Prevotella nanceiensis in the sputum microbiota are associated with increased decline in lung function in individuals with cystic fibrosis.

Ink-jet 3D printing as a strategy for developing bespoke non-eluting biofilm resistant medical devices (2021)
Journal Article
He, Y., Luckett, J., Begines, B., Dubern, J. F., Hook, A. L., Prina, E., …Wildman, R. D. (2022). Ink-jet 3D printing as a strategy for developing bespoke non-eluting biofilm resistant medical devices. Biomaterials, 281, Article 121350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121350

Chronic infection as a result of bacterial biofilm formation on implanted medical devices is a major global healthcare problem requiring new biocompatible, biofilm-resistant materials. Here we demonstrate how bespoke devices can be manufactured throu... Read More about Ink-jet 3D printing as a strategy for developing bespoke non-eluting biofilm resistant medical devices.

Carbohydrates from Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms interact with immune C-type lectins and interfere with their receptor function (2021)
Journal Article
Singh, S., Almuhanna, Y., Alshahrani, M. Y., Lowman, D. W., Rice, P. J., Gell, C., …Martinez-Pomares, L. (2021). Carbohydrates from Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms interact with immune C-type lectins and interfere with their receptor function. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, 7(1), Article 87. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-021-00257-w

Bacterial biofilms represent a challenge to the healthcare system because of their resilience against antimicrobials and immune attack. Biofilms consist of bacterial aggregates embedded in an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) composed of polysa... Read More about Carbohydrates from Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms interact with immune C-type lectins and interfere with their receptor function.

Actinomadura graeca sp. nov.: A novel producer of the macrocyclic antibiotic zelkovamycin (2021)
Journal Article
Tarantini, F. S., Brunati, M., Taravella, A., Carrano, L., Parenti, F., Hong, K. W., …Chan, W. C. (2021). Actinomadura graeca sp. nov.: A novel producer of the macrocyclic antibiotic zelkovamycin. PLoS ONE, 16(11), Article e0260413. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260413

As part of a screening programme for antibiotic-producing bacteria, a novel Actinomadura species was discovered from a soil sample collected in Santorini, Greece. Preliminary 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons highlighted Actinomadura macra as the mo... Read More about Actinomadura graeca sp. nov.: A novel producer of the macrocyclic antibiotic zelkovamycin.

2-Alkyl-4-quinolone quorum sensing molecules are biomarkers for culture-independent Pseudomonas aeruginosa burden in adults with cystic fibrosis (2021)
Journal Article
Zain, N. M. M., Webb, K., Stewart, I., Halliday, N., Barrett, D. A., Nash, E. F., …Barr, H. L. (2021). 2-Alkyl-4-quinolone quorum sensing molecules are biomarkers for culture-independent Pseudomonas aeruginosa burden in adults with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 70(10), https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001420

Introduction. Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces quorum sensing signalling molecules including 2-alkyl-4-quinolones (AQs), which regulate virulence factor production in the cystic fibrosis (CF) airways. Hypothesis/Gap statement. Culture can lead to cond... Read More about 2-Alkyl-4-quinolone quorum sensing molecules are biomarkers for culture-independent Pseudomonas aeruginosa burden in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Novel detection of specific bacterial quorum sensing molecules in saliva: Potential non-invasive biomarkers for pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis (2021)
Journal Article
Webb, K., Cámara, M., Zain, N. M. M., Halliday, N., Bruce, K. D., Nash, E. F., …Barr, H. L. (2022). Novel detection of specific bacterial quorum sensing molecules in saliva: Potential non-invasive biomarkers for pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, 21(4), 626-629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcf.2021.08.030

Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces specific signalling molecules, 2-alkyl-4-quinolones (AQs) that are detectable in the sputum of adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) and who have pulmonary infection with this opportunistic pathogen. This study aimed to det... Read More about Novel detection of specific bacterial quorum sensing molecules in saliva: Potential non-invasive biomarkers for pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis.

Generation and Characterization of a Library of Novel Biologically Active Functional Surfactants (Surfmers) Using Combined High-Throughput Methods (2021)
Journal Article
Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Contreas, L., Taresco, V., Howard, S. C., Dundas, A. A., Limo, M. J., …Irvine, D. J. (2021). Generation and Characterization of a Library of Novel Biologically Active Functional Surfactants (Surfmers) Using Combined High-Throughput Methods. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 13(36), 43290-43300. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c08662

We report the first successful combination of three distinct high-throughput techniques to deliver the accelerated design, synthesis, and property screening of a library of novel, bio-instructive, polymeric, comb-graft surfactants. These three-dimens... Read More about Generation and Characterization of a Library of Novel Biologically Active Functional Surfactants (Surfmers) Using Combined High-Throughput Methods.

Design and Evaluation of New Quinazolin-4(3 H)-one Derived PqsR Antagonists as Quorum Sensing Quenchers in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2021)
Journal Article
Soukarieh, F., Mashabi, A., Richardson, W., Oton, E. V., Romero, M., Roberston, S. N., …Cámara, M. (2021). Design and Evaluation of New Quinazolin-4(3 H)-one Derived PqsR Antagonists as Quorum Sensing Quenchers in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ACS Infectious Diseases, 7(9), 2666-2685. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00175

P. aeruginosa (PA) continues to pose a threat to global public health due to its high levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The ongoing AMR crisis has led to an alarming shortage of effective treatments for resistant microbes, and hence there is... Read More about Design and Evaluation of New Quinazolin-4(3 H)-one Derived PqsR Antagonists as Quorum Sensing Quenchers in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Disruption of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Tat system perturbs PQS-dependent quorum sensing and biofilm maturation through lack of the Rieske cytochrome bc1sub-unit (2021)
Journal Article
Soh, E. Y., Smith, F., Gimenez, M. R., Yang, L., Vejborg, R. M., Fletcher, M., …Williams, P. (2021). Disruption of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Tat system perturbs PQS-dependent quorum sensing and biofilm maturation through lack of the Rieske cytochrome bc1sub-unit. PLoS Pathogens, 17(8), Article e1009425. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009425

Extracellular DNA (eDNA) is a major constituent of the extracellular matrix of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms and its release is regulated via pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) dependent quorum sensing (QS). By screening a P. aeruginosa transposon... Read More about Disruption of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Tat system perturbs PQS-dependent quorum sensing and biofilm maturation through lack of the Rieske cytochrome bc1sub-unit.

Exploiting Generative Design for 3D Printing of Bacterial Biofilm Resistant Composite Devices (2021)
Journal Article
He, Y., Abdi, M., Trindade, G. F., Begines, B., Dubern, J. F., Prina, E., …Wildman, R. D. (2021). Exploiting Generative Design for 3D Printing of Bacterial Biofilm Resistant Composite Devices. Advanced Science, 8(15), Article 2100249. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202100249

As the understanding of disease grows, so does the opportunity for personalization of therapies targeted to the needs of the individual. To bring about a step change in the personalization of medical devices it is shown that multi-material inkjet-bas... Read More about Exploiting Generative Design for 3D Printing of Bacterial Biofilm Resistant Composite Devices.

Molecular modifications of the pseudomonas quinolone signal in the intermicrobial competition with aspergillus (2021)
Journal Article
Nazik, H., Sass, G., Williams, P., Déziel, E., & Stevens, D. A. (2021). Molecular modifications of the pseudomonas quinolone signal in the intermicrobial competition with aspergillus. Journal of Fungi, 7(5), https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7050343

The Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) is an important quorum-sensing molecule for Pseudomonas aeruginosa that regulates virulence factors, chelates iron, and is an important factor in interactions with eukaryotes, including fungi and mammalian hosts... Read More about Molecular modifications of the pseudomonas quinolone signal in the intermicrobial competition with aspergillus.

NirA Is an Alternative Nitrite Reductase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Potential as an Antivirulence Target (2021)
Journal Article
Fenn, S., Dubern, J., Cigana, C., De Simone, M., Lazenby, J., Juhas, M., …Cámara, M. (2021). NirA Is an Alternative Nitrite Reductase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Potential as an Antivirulence Target. mBio, 12(2), Article e00207-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00207-21

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces an arsenal of virulence factors causing a wide range of diseases in multiple hosts and is difficult to eradicate due to its intrinsic resistance to antibiotics. With the antibacterial pipelin... Read More about NirA Is an Alternative Nitrite Reductase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Potential as an Antivirulence Target.

Immunity in space: prokaryote adaptations and immune response in microgravity (2021)
Journal Article
Green, M. J., Aylott, J. W., Williams, P., Ghaemmaghami, A. M., & Williams, P. M. (2021). Immunity in space: prokaryote adaptations and immune response in microgravity. Life, 11(2), Article 112. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11020112

Immune dysfunction has long been reported by medical professionals regarding astronauts suffering from opportunistic infections both during their time in space and a short period afterwards once back on Earth. Various species of prokaryotes onboard t... Read More about Immunity in space: prokaryote adaptations and immune response in microgravity.

AbaM Regulates Quorum Sensing, Biofilm Formation and Virulence in Acinetobacter baumannii (2021)
Journal Article
López-Martín, M., Dubern, J., Alexander, M. R., & Williams, P. (2021). AbaM Regulates Quorum Sensing, Biofilm Formation and Virulence in Acinetobacter baumannii. Journal of Bacteriology, 203(8), Article e00635-20. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00635-20

Acinetobacter baumannii possesses a single divergent luxR/luxI-type quorum sensing (QS) locus named abaR/abaI. This locus also contains a third gene located between abaR and abaI which we term abaM that codes for an uncharacterized member of the RsaM... Read More about AbaM Regulates Quorum Sensing, Biofilm Formation and Virulence in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Single-Cell Tracking on Polymer Microarrays Reveals the Impact of Surface Chemistry on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Twitching Speed and Biofilm Development (2020)
Journal Article
Carabelli, A. M., Isgró, M., Sanni, O., Figueredo, G. P., Winkler, D. A., Burroughs, L., …Alexander, M. R. (2020). Single-Cell Tracking on Polymer Microarrays Reveals the Impact of Surface Chemistry on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Twitching Speed and Biofilm Development. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 3(12), 8471–8480. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.0c00849

© 2020 American Chemical Society. Bacterial biofilms exhibit up to 1000 times greater resistance to antibiotic or host immune clearance than planktonic cells. Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces retractable type IV pili (T4P) that facilitate twitching mo... Read More about Single-Cell Tracking on Polymer Microarrays Reveals the Impact of Surface Chemistry on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Twitching Speed and Biofilm Development.

Model-Informed Drug Discovery and Development in Pulmonary Delivery: Biopharmaceutical Pharmacometric Modeling for Formulation Evaluation of Pulmonary Suspensions (2020)
Journal Article
Sou, T., Soukarieh, F., Williams, P., Stocks, M. J., Cámara, M., & Bergström, C. A. S. (2020). Model-Informed Drug Discovery and Development in Pulmonary Delivery: Biopharmaceutical Pharmacometric Modeling for Formulation Evaluation of Pulmonary Suspensions. ACS Omega, 5(40), 25733-25746. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.0c03004

Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society. For respiratory conditions, targeted drug delivery to the lungs could produce higher local concentrations with reduced risk of adverse events compared to systemic administration. Despite the increasing inte... Read More about Model-Informed Drug Discovery and Development in Pulmonary Delivery: Biopharmaceutical Pharmacometric Modeling for Formulation Evaluation of Pulmonary Suspensions.

Novel quinazolinone inhibitors of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing transcriptional regulator PqsR (2020)
Journal Article
Grossman, S., Soukarieh, F., Richardson, W., Liu, R., Mashabi, A., Emsley, J., …Stocks, M. J. (2020). Novel quinazolinone inhibitors of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing transcriptional regulator PqsR. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 208, Article 112778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112778

© 2020 The Authors Rising numbers of cases of multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa over recent years have created an urgent need for novel therapeutic approaches to cure potentially fatal infections. One such approach is v... Read More about Novel quinazolinone inhibitors of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing transcriptional regulator PqsR.

Discovery of hemocompatible bacterial biofilm-resistant copolymers (2020)
Journal Article
Singh, T., Hook, A. L., Luckett, J., Maitz, M. F., Sperling, C., Werner, C., …Alexander, M. R. (2020). Discovery of hemocompatible bacterial biofilm-resistant copolymers. Biomaterials, 260, Article 120312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.120312

© 2020 The Authors Blood-contacting medical devices play an important role within healthcare and are required to be biocompatible, hemocompatible and resistant to microbial colonization. Here we describe a high throughput screen for copolymers with t... Read More about Discovery of hemocompatible bacterial biofilm-resistant copolymers.

Gaussia luciferase as a reporter for quorum sensing in staphylococcus aureus (2020)
Journal Article
Blower, I., Tong, C., Sun, X., Murray, E., Luckett, J., Chan, W., …Hill, P. (2020). Gaussia luciferase as a reporter for quorum sensing in staphylococcus aureus. Sensors, 20(15), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20154305

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Gaussia luciferase (GLuc) is a secreted protein with significant potential for use as a reporter of gene expression in bacterial pathogenicity studies. To date there are relatively few example... Read More about Gaussia luciferase as a reporter for quorum sensing in staphylococcus aureus.

Achieving Microparticles with Cell-Instructive Surface Chemistry by Using Tunable Co-Polymer Surfactants (2020)
Journal Article
Dundas, A. A., Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Haas, S., Dubern, J., Latif, A., Romero, M., …Irvine, D. J. (2020). Achieving Microparticles with Cell-Instructive Surface Chemistry by Using Tunable Co-Polymer Surfactants. Advanced Functional Materials, 30(36), https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202001821

© 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim A flow-focusing microfluidic device is used to produce functionalized monodisperse polymer particles with surface chemistries designed to control bacterial biofilm formatio... Read More about Achieving Microparticles with Cell-Instructive Surface Chemistry by Using Tunable Co-Polymer Surfactants.

Hit Identification of New Potent PqsR Antagonists as Inhibitors of Quorum Sensing in Planktonic and Biofilm Grown Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2020)
Journal Article
Soukarieh, F., Liu, R., Romero, M., Roberston, S. N., Richardson, W., Lucanto, S., …Stocks, M. J. (2020). Hit Identification of New Potent PqsR Antagonists as Inhibitors of Quorum Sensing in Planktonic and Biofilm Grown Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Frontiers in Chemistry, 8, Article 204. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2020.00204

© Copyright © 2020 Soukarieh, Liu, Romero, Roberston, Richardson, Lucanto, Oton, Qudus, Mashabi, Grossman, Ali, Sou, Kukavica-Ibrulj, Levesque, Bergström, Halliday, Mistry, Emsley, Heeb, Williams, Cámara and Stocks. Current treatments for Pseudomonas... Read More about Hit Identification of New Potent PqsR Antagonists as Inhibitors of Quorum Sensing in Planktonic and Biofilm Grown Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Immune Modulation by Design: Using Topography to Control Human Monocyte Attachment and Macrophage Differentiation (2020)
Journal Article
Vassey, M. J., Figueredo, G. P., Scurr, D. J., Vasilevich, A. S., Vermeulen, S., Carlier, A., …Alexander, M. R. (2020). Immune Modulation by Design: Using Topography to Control Human Monocyte Attachment and Macrophage Differentiation. Advanced Science, 7(11), https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201903392

© 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Macrophages play a central role in orchestrating immune responses to foreign materials, which are often responsible for the failure of implanted medical devices. Material t... Read More about Immune Modulation by Design: Using Topography to Control Human Monocyte Attachment and Macrophage Differentiation.

A Simple Polymicrobial Biofilm Keratinocyte Colonization Model for Exploring Interactions Between Commensals, Pathogens and Antimicrobials (2020)
Journal Article
Jordana-Lluch, E., Garcia, V., Kingdon, A. D. H., Singh, N., Alexander, C., Williams, P., & Hardie, K. R. (2020). A Simple Polymicrobial Biofilm Keratinocyte Colonization Model for Exploring Interactions Between Commensals, Pathogens and Antimicrobials. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, Article 291. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00291

© 2020 Jordana-Lluch, Garcia, Kingdon, Singh, Alexander, Williams and Hardie. Skin offers protection against external insults, with the skin microbiota playing a crucial defensive role against pathogens that gain access when the skin barrier is breac... Read More about A Simple Polymicrobial Biofilm Keratinocyte Colonization Model for Exploring Interactions Between Commensals, Pathogens and Antimicrobials.

Real time monitoring of biofilm formation on coated medical devices for the reduction and interception of bacterial infections (2020)
Journal Article
Kurmoo, Y., Hook, A. L., Harvey, D., Dubern, J., Williams, P., Morgan, S. P., …Alexander, M. R. (2020). Real time monitoring of biofilm formation on coated medical devices for the reduction and interception of bacterial infections. Biomaterials Science, 8(5), 1464-1477. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9bm00875f

Real time monitoring of bacterial attachment to medical devices provides opportunities to detect early biofilm formation and instigate appropriate interventions before infection develops. This study utilises long period grating (LPG) optical fibre se... Read More about Real time monitoring of biofilm formation on coated medical devices for the reduction and interception of bacterial infections.

Microfluidic-based Growth and Imaging of Bacterial Biofilms (2019)
Journal Article
Brown, J., Blunk, B., Williams, P., & Hardie, K. (2019). Microfluidic-based Growth and Imaging of Bacterial Biofilms. Bio-protocol, 9(24), https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.3460

Biofilms are a ubiquitous form of growth for bacteria on surfaces in most environments, natural or manmade. Here we present a protocol using the Bioflux microfluidic system to investigate the organized structure and development of these multicellular... Read More about Microfluidic-based Growth and Imaging of Bacterial Biofilms.

Clinical significance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2-alkyl-4-quinolone quorum-sensing signal molecules for long-term outcomes in adults with cystic fibrosis (2019)
Journal Article
Webb, K., Fogarty, A., Barrett, D. A., Nash, E. F., Whitehouse, J. L., Smyth, A. R., …Cámara, M. (2019). Clinical significance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2-alkyl-4-quinolone quorum-sensing signal molecules for long-term outcomes in adults with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 68(12), 1823-1828. https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001099

Introduction : Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important respiratory pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF), which is associated with an accelerated decline in lung function, frequent pulmonary exacerbations and increased mortality. P. aeruginosa produces in... Read More about Clinical significance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2-alkyl-4-quinolone quorum-sensing signal molecules for long-term outcomes in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Validating a Predictive Structure-Property Relationship by Discovery of Novel Polymers which Reduce Bacterial Biofilm Formation (2019)
Journal Article
Dundas, A. A., Sanni, O., Dubern, J., Dimitrakis, G., Hook, A. L., Irvine, D. J., …Alexander, M. R. (2019). Validating a Predictive Structure-Property Relationship by Discovery of Novel Polymers which Reduce Bacterial Biofilm Formation. Advanced Materials, 31(49), Article 1903513. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201903513

ynthetic materials are an everyday component of modern healthcare yet often fail routinely as a consequence of medical‐device‐centered infections. The incidence rate for catheter‐associated urinary tract infections is between 3% and 7% for each day o... Read More about Validating a Predictive Structure-Property Relationship by Discovery of Novel Polymers which Reduce Bacterial Biofilm Formation.

Simultaneous Tracking of Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility in liquid and at the Solid-Liquid Interface Reveals Differential Roles for the Flagellar Stators (2019)
Journal Article
Hook, A. L., Flewellen, J. L., Dubern, J., Carabelli, A., Zald, I. M., Berry, R. M., …Alexander, M. R. (2019). Simultaneous Tracking of Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility in liquid and at the Solid-Liquid Interface Reveals Differential Roles for the Flagellar Stators. mSystems, 4(5), Article e00390-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00390-19

Bacteria sense chemicals, surfaces, and other cells and move toward some and away from others. Studying how single bacterial cells in a population move requires sophisticated tracking and imaging techniques. We have established quantitative methodolo... Read More about Simultaneous Tracking of Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility in liquid and at the Solid-Liquid Interface Reveals Differential Roles for the Flagellar Stators.

Timing is everything – impact of naturally occurring Staphylococcus aureus AgrC cytoplasmic domain adaptive mutations on auto-induction (2019)
Journal Article
Sloan, T. J., Murray, E., Yokoyama, M., Massey, R. C., Chan, W. C., Bonev, B., & Williams, P. (2019). Timing is everything – impact of naturally occurring Staphylococcus aureus AgrC cytoplasmic domain adaptive mutations on auto-induction. Journal of Bacteriology, 201(20), Article e00409-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00409-19

Mutations in the polymorphic Staphylococcus aureus agr locus responsible for quorum sensing (QS) dependent virulence gene regulation occur frequently during host adaptation. In two genomically closely related S. aureus clinical isolates exhibiting ma... Read More about Timing is everything – impact of naturally occurring Staphylococcus aureus AgrC cytoplasmic domain adaptive mutations on auto-induction.

Dual Bioresponsive Antibiotic and Quorum Sensing Inhibitor Combination Nanoparticles for Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms In Vitro and Ex Vivo (2019)
Journal Article
Singh, N., Romero, M., Travanut, A., Monteiro, P., Jordana-Lluch, E., Hardie, K. R., …Alexander, C. (2019). Dual Bioresponsive Antibiotic and Quorum Sensing Inhibitor Combination Nanoparticles for Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms In Vitro and Ex Vivo. Biomaterials Science, 10(7), 4099-4111. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9BM00773C

Many debilitating infections result from persistent microbial biofilms that do not respond to conventional antibiotic regimens. A potential method to treat such chronic infections is to combine agents which interfere with bacterial biofilm developmen... Read More about Dual Bioresponsive Antibiotic and Quorum Sensing Inhibitor Combination Nanoparticles for Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms In Vitro and Ex Vivo.

Contribution of the alkylquinolone quorum sensing system to the interaction of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with bronchial epithelial cells. (2018)
Journal Article
Liu, Y., Hussain, F., Negm, O., Pavia, A., Halliday, N., Frédéric Dubern, J., …Martínez-Pomares, L. (2018). Contribution of the alkylquinolone quorum sensing system to the interaction of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with bronchial epithelial cells. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, Article 3018. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.03018

Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes infections in patients with compromised epithelial 32 barrier function. Multiple virulence factors produced by P. aeruginosa are controlled 33 by quorum sensing (QS) via 2-alkyl-4(1H)-quinolone (AQ) signal molecules. Her... Read More about Contribution of the alkylquinolone quorum sensing system to the interaction of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with bronchial epithelial cells..

Molecular recognition of lipopolysaccaride by the lantibiotic nisin (2018)
Journal Article
Lanne, A. B., Goode, A., Prattley, C., Kumari, D., Drasbek, M. R., Williams, P., …Bonev, B. B. (2019). Molecular recognition of lipopolysaccaride by the lantibiotic nisin. BBA - Biomembranes, 1861(1), 83-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2018.10.006

Nisin is a lanthionine antimicrobial effective against diverse Gram-positive bacteria and is used as a food preservative worldwide. Its action is mediated by pyrophosphate recognition of the bacterial cell wall receptors lipid II and undecaprenyl pyr... Read More about Molecular recognition of lipopolysaccaride by the lantibiotic nisin.

Model-based drug development in pulmonary delivery: pharmacokinetic analysis of novel drug candidates for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection (2018)
Journal Article
Sou, T., Kukavica-Ibrulj, I., Soukarieh, F., Halliday, N., Levesque, R. C., Williams, P., …Bergström, C. A. (2019). Model-based drug development in pulmonary delivery: pharmacokinetic analysis of novel drug candidates for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 108(1), 630-640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xphs.2018.09.017

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health threat worldwide. In particular, about 80% of cystic fibrosis patients have chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) lung infection resistant to many current antibiotics. We are therefore developing a novel c... Read More about Model-based drug development in pulmonary delivery: pharmacokinetic analysis of novel drug candidates for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection.

Identification of FDA-Approved Drugs as Antivirulence Agents Targeting the pqs Quorum-Sensing System of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2018)
Journal Article
D'Angelo, F., Baldelli, V., Halliday, N., Pantalone, P., Polticelli, F., Fiscarelli, E., …Rampioni, G. (2018). Identification of FDA-Approved Drugs as Antivirulence Agents Targeting the pqs Quorum-Sensing System of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 62(11), Article e01296-18. https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01296-18

Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. The long-term use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. A promising strategy to combat bacterial infections aims at hampering their adaptabili... Read More about Identification of FDA-Approved Drugs as Antivirulence Agents Targeting the pqs Quorum-Sensing System of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Differential regulation of the phenazine biosynthetic operons by quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1-N (2018)
Journal Article
Higgins, S., Heeb, S., Rampioni, G., Fletcher, M. P., Williams, P., & Cámara, M. (2018). Differential regulation of the phenazine biosynthetic operons by quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1-N. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 8, Article 252. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2018.00252

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing (QS) network plays a key role in the adaptation to environmental changes and the control of virulence factor production in this opportunistic human pathogen. Three interlinked QS systems, namely las, rhl, and... Read More about Differential regulation of the phenazine biosynthetic operons by quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1-N.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing systems as drug discovery targets: current position and future perspectives (2018)
Journal Article
Soukarieh, F., Williams, P., Stocks, M. J., & Camara, M. (in press). Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing systems as drug discovery targets: current position and future perspectives. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00540

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to public health globally, manifested by the frequent emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens that render current chemotherapy inadequate. Health organizations worldwide have recognized the sever... Read More about Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing systems as drug discovery targets: current position and future perspectives.

The quorum sensing system of Yersinia enterocolitica 8081 regulates swimming motility, host cell attachment, and virulence plasmid maintenance (2018)
Journal Article
Ng, Y., Grasso, M., Wright, V., Garcia, V., Williams, P., & Atkinson, S. (2018). The quorum sensing system of Yersinia enterocolitica 8081 regulates swimming motility, host cell attachment, and virulence plasmid maintenance. Genes, 9(6), Article 307. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9060307

Although Yersinia enterocolitica genomes are highly heterogeneous, they contain a conserved N-acylhomoserine lactone-dependent (AHL) quorum sensing (QS) system consisting of the luxR and luxI orthologs yenR and yenI respectively. Certain hypervirulen... Read More about The quorum sensing system of Yersinia enterocolitica 8081 regulates swimming motility, host cell attachment, and virulence plasmid maintenance.

Effect of surfactant on Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization of polymer microparticles and flat films (2018)
Journal Article
Hüsler, A., Haas, S., Parry, L., Romero, M., Nisisako, T., Williams, P., …Alexander, M. R. (2018). Effect of surfactant on Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization of polymer microparticles and flat films. RSC Advances, 8(28), https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ra01491d

Micro- and nanoparticles are of great interest because of their potential for trafficking into the body for applications such as low-fouling coatings on medical devices, drug delivery in pharmaceutics and cell carriers in regenerative medicine strate... Read More about Effect of surfactant on Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization of polymer microparticles and flat films.

To boil an egg: substrate binding affects critical stability in thermal unfolding of proteins (2018)
Journal Article
Hussain, R., Hughes, C. S., Jávorfi, T., Siligardi, G., Williams, P., & Bonev, B. B. (2018). To boil an egg: substrate binding affects critical stability in thermal unfolding of proteins. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 122(8), 2213-2218. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b10643

Thermal unfolding of proteins is used extensively in screening of drug candidates because molecular interactions with ligands and substrates affect strongly protein stability, transition temperature, and cooperativity. We use synchrotron radiation ci... Read More about To boil an egg: substrate binding affects critical stability in thermal unfolding of proteins.

In Silico and in Vitro-Guided Identification of Inhibitors of Alkylquinolone-Dependent Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2018)
Journal Article
Soukarieh, F., Vico Oton, E., Dubern, J., Gomes, J., Halliday, N., de Pilar Crespo, M., …Cámara, M. (2018). In Silico and in Vitro-Guided Identification of Inhibitors of Alkylquinolone-Dependent Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Molecules, 23(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23020257

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major opportunistic pathogen in cystic fibrosis, wound and nosocomial infections, posing a serious burden to public health, due to its antibiotic resistance. The P. aeruginosa Pseudomonas Quinolone System (pqs) quorum sens... Read More about In Silico and in Vitro-Guided Identification of Inhibitors of Alkylquinolone-Dependent Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Prediction of Broad-Spectrum Pathogen Attachment to Coating Materials for Biomedical Devices (2018)
Journal Article
Dundas, A. A., Mikulskis, P., Hook, A., Dundas, A., Irvine, D., Sanni, O., …Winkler, D. A. (2018). Prediction of Broad-Spectrum Pathogen Attachment to Coating Materials for Biomedical Devices. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10(1), 139-149. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b14197

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Bacterial infections in healthcare settings are a frequent accompaniment to both routine procedures such as catheterization and surgical site interventions. Their impact is becoming even more marked as the numbers of... Read More about Prediction of Broad-Spectrum Pathogen Attachment to Coating Materials for Biomedical Devices.

Genome-wide mapping of the RNA targets of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa riboregulatory protein RsmN (2018)
Journal Article
Romero, M., Silistre, H., Lovelock, L., Wright, V. J., Kok, G., Kar-Wai, H., …Heeb, S. (2018). Genome-wide mapping of the RNA targets of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa riboregulatory protein RsmN. Nucleic Acids Research, 46(13), 6823-6840. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gky324

Pseudomonads typically carry multiple non-identical alleles of the post-transcriptional regulator rsmA. In P. aeruginosa, RsmN is notable in that its structural rearrangement confers distinct and overlapping functions with RsmA. However, little is k... Read More about Genome-wide mapping of the RNA targets of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa riboregulatory protein RsmN.

Weight gain during acute treatment of an initial pulmonary exacerbation is associated with a longer interval to the next exacerbation in adults with cystic fibrosis (2017)
Journal Article
Barr, H. L., Cámara, M., Barrett, D., Williams, P., Forrester, D., Smyth, A., …Fogarty, A. W. (in press). Weight gain during acute treatment of an initial pulmonary exacerbation is associated with a longer interval to the next exacerbation in adults with cystic fibrosis. ERJ Open Research, 3(3), https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00057-2017

Water contact angle is not a good predictor of biological responses to materials (2017)
Journal Article
Alexander, M. R., & Williams, P. (in press). Water contact angle is not a good predictor of biological responses to materials. Biointerphases, 12(2), Article 02C201. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4989843

Often the view is expressed that water contact angle (WCA) or other wettability/surface energy measurements made on a material surface can be used to predict cellular attachment to materials, e.g., bacteria attach to hydrophobic surfaces. In this art... Read More about Water contact angle is not a good predictor of biological responses to materials.

Development and characterization of a stable adhesive bond between a poly(dimethylsiloxane) catheter material and a bacterial biofilm resistant acrylate polymer coating (2017)
Journal Article
Tyler, B. J., Hook, A. L., Pelster, A., Williams, P., Alexander, M. R., & Arlinghaus, H. F. (2017). Development and characterization of a stable adhesive bond between a poly(dimethylsiloxane) catheter material and a bacterial biofilm resistant acrylate polymer coating. Biointerphases, 12(2), Article 02C412. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4984011

Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CA-UTIs) are the most common health related infections world wide, contributing significantly to patient morbidity and mortality and increased health care costs. To reduce the incidence of these infection... Read More about Development and characterization of a stable adhesive bond between a poly(dimethylsiloxane) catheter material and a bacterial biofilm resistant acrylate polymer coating.

Environmental modification via a quorum sensing molecule influences the social landscape of siderophore production (2017)
Journal Article
Popat, R., Harrison, F., da Silva, A. C., Easton, S. A., McNally, L., Williams, P., & Diggle, S. P. (2017). Environmental modification via a quorum sensing molecule influences the social landscape of siderophore production. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1852), Article 20170200. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0200

Bacteria produce a wide variety of exoproducts that favourably modify their environment and increase their fitness. These are often termed ‘public goods’ because they are costly for individuals to produce and can be exploited by non-producers (‘cheat... Read More about Environmental modification via a quorum sensing molecule influences the social landscape of siderophore production.

Negative regulation of violacein biosynthesis in Chromobacterium violaceum (2017)
Journal Article
Devescovi, G., Kojic, M., Covaceuszach, S., Cámara, M., Williams, P., Bertani, I., …Venturi, V. (in press). Negative regulation of violacein biosynthesis in Chromobacterium violaceum. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, Article 349. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00349

In Chromobacteium violaceum, the purple pigment violacein is under positive regulation by the N-acylhomoserine lactone CviI/R quorum sensing system and negative regulation by an uncharacterized putative repressor. In this study we report that the bio... Read More about Negative regulation of violacein biosynthesis in Chromobacterium violaceum.

5-Hydroxyethyl-3-tetradecanoyltetramic acid represents a novel treatment for intravascular catheter infections due to Staphylococcus aureus (2016)
Journal Article
Zapotoczna, M., Murray, E. J., Hogan, S., O'Gara, J. P., Chhabra, S. R., Chan, W. C., …Williams, P. (2017). 5-Hydroxyethyl-3-tetradecanoyltetramic acid represents a novel treatment for intravascular catheter infections due to Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 72(3), 744-753. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkw482

Objectives: Biofilm infections of intravascular catheters caused by Staphylococcus aureus may be treated with catheter lock solutions (CLSs). Here we investigated the antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity and CLS potential of 5-hydroxyethyl-3-tetradec... Read More about 5-Hydroxyethyl-3-tetradecanoyltetramic acid represents a novel treatment for intravascular catheter infections due to Staphylococcus aureus.

Unravelling the Genome-Wide Contributions of Specific 2-Alkyl-4-Quinolones and PqsE to Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2016)
Journal Article
Rampioni, G., Falcone, M., Heeb, S., Frangipani, E., Fletcher, M. P., Dubern, J., …Williams, P. (2016). Unravelling the Genome-Wide Contributions of Specific 2-Alkyl-4-Quinolones and PqsE to Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PLoS Pathogens, 12(11), e1006029. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006029

The pqs quorum sensing (QS) system is crucial for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence both in vitro and in animal models of infection and is considered an ideal target for the development of anti-virulence agents. However, the precise role played by eac... Read More about Unravelling the Genome-Wide Contributions of Specific 2-Alkyl-4-Quinolones and PqsE to Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Making Silicone Rubber Highly Resistant to Bacterial Attachment Using Thiol-ene Grafting (2016)
Journal Article
Magennis, E. P., Hook, A. L., Williams, P., & Alexander, M. R. (2016). Making Silicone Rubber Highly Resistant to Bacterial Attachment Using Thiol-ene Grafting. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 8(45), 30780-30787. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b10986

Biomedical devices are indispensable in modern medicine yet offer surfaces that promote bacterial attachment and biofilm formation, resulting in acute and chronic healthcare-associated infections. We have developed a simple method to graft acrylates... Read More about Making Silicone Rubber Highly Resistant to Bacterial Attachment Using Thiol-ene Grafting.

Diagnostic and prognostic significance of systemic alkyl quinolones for P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: a longitudinal study (2016)
Journal Article
Barr, H. L., Halliday, N., Barrett, D. A., Williams, P., Forrester, D. L., Peckham, D., …Fogarty, A. W. (2017). Diagnostic and prognostic significance of systemic alkyl quinolones for P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: a longitudinal study. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, 16(2), 230-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcf.2016.10.005

Background Pulmonary P. aeruginosa infection is associated with poor outcomes in cystic fibrosis (CF) and early diagnosis is challenging, particularly in those who are unable to expectorate sputum. Specific P. aeruginosa 2-alkyl-4-quinolones are det... Read More about Diagnostic and prognostic significance of systemic alkyl quinolones for P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: a longitudinal study.

The fitness burden imposed by synthesising quorum sensing signals (2016)
Journal Article
Ruparell, A., Dubern, J., Ortori, C. A., Harrison, F., Halliday, N., Emtage, A., …Hardie, K. R. (2016). The fitness burden imposed by synthesising quorum sensing signals. Scientific Reports, 6, Article 33101. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33101

It is now well established that bacterial populations utilize cell-to-cell signaling (quorum-sensing, QS) to control the production of public goods and other co-operative behaviours. Evolutionary theory predicts that both the cost of signal productio... Read More about The fitness burden imposed by synthesising quorum sensing signals.

Application of Targeted Molecular and Material Property Optimization to Bacterial Attachment-Resistant (Meth)acrylate Polymers (2016)
Journal Article
Adlington, K., Nguyen, N. T., Eaves, E., Yang, J., Chang, C. Y., Li, J., …Irvine, D. J. (2016). Application of Targeted Molecular and Material Property Optimization to Bacterial Attachment-Resistant (Meth)acrylate Polymers. Biomacromolecules, 17(9), 2830-2838. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.6b00615

© 2016 American Chemical Society. Developing medical devices that resist bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation is highly desirable. In this paper, we report the optimization of the molecular structure and thus material properties of a... Read More about Application of Targeted Molecular and Material Property Optimization to Bacterial Attachment-Resistant (Meth)acrylate Polymers.

Cystic Fibrosis isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa retain iron-regulated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus through the action of multiple alkylquinolones (2016)
Journal Article
Nguyen, A. T., Jones, J. W., Cámara, M., Williams, P., Kane, M. A., & Oglesby-Sherrouse, A. G. (2016). Cystic Fibrosis isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa retain iron-regulated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus through the action of multiple alkylquinolones. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01171

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary disease that predisposes individuals to pulmonary dysfunction and chronic infections. Early infection of the CF lung with Staphylococcus aureus is common, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa becomes dominant as disease p... Read More about Cystic Fibrosis isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa retain iron-regulated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus through the action of multiple alkylquinolones.

Yersinia virulence factors: a sophisticated arsenal for combating host defences (2016)
Journal Article
Atkinson, S., & Williams, P. (2016). Yersinia virulence factors: a sophisticated arsenal for combating host defences. F1000Research, 5, 1370. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.8466.1

The human pathogens Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica cause enterocolitis, while Yersinia pestis is responsible for pneumonic, bubonic, and septicaemic plague. All three share an infection strategy that relies on a virulence fac... Read More about Yersinia virulence factors: a sophisticated arsenal for combating host defences.

PqsBC, a condensing enzyme in the biosynthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal: crystal structure, inhibition, and reaction mechanism (2016)
Journal Article
Drees, S. L., Li, C., Prasetya, F., Saleem, M., Dreveny, I., Williams, P., …Fetzner, S. (2016). PqsBC, a condensing enzyme in the biosynthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal: crystal structure, inhibition, and reaction mechanism. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291(13), https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.708453

Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a number of alkylquinolone-type secondary metabolites best known for their antimicrobial effects and involvement in cell-cell communication. In the alkylquinolone biosynthetic pathway, the β-ketoacyl-(acyl carrier prot... Read More about PqsBC, a condensing enzyme in the biosynthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal: crystal structure, inhibition, and reaction mechanism.

Engineering serendipity: High-throughput discovery of materials that resist bacterial attachment (2015)
Journal Article
Magennis, E., Hook, A., Davies, M., Alexander, C., Williams, P., & Alexander, M. R. (2016). Engineering serendipity: High-throughput discovery of materials that resist bacterial attachment. Acta Biomaterialia, 34, 84-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2015.11.008

Controlling the colonisation of materials by microorganisms is important in a wide range of industries and clinical settings. To date, the underlying mechanisms that govern the interactions of bacteria with material surfaces remain poorly understood,... Read More about Engineering serendipity: High-throughput discovery of materials that resist bacterial attachment.

Integrated whole-genome screening for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence genes using multiple disease models reveals that pathogenicity is host specific (2015)
Journal Article
Dubern, J., Cigana, C., De Simone, M., Lazenby, J., Juhas, M., Schwager, S., …Camara Garcia, M. (2015). Integrated whole-genome screening for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence genes using multiple disease models reveals that pathogenicity is host specific. Environmental Microbiology, 17(11), 4379-4393. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12863

Clinical utilization of genomics data produced by the international Pseudomonas aeruginosa consortium (2015)
Journal Article
Freschi, L., Jeukens, J., Kukavica-Ibrulj, I., Boyle, B., Dupont, M., Laroche, J., …Levesque, R. C. (in press). Clinical utilization of genomics data produced by the international Pseudomonas aeruginosa consortium. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6(1036), https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01036

The International Pseudomonas aeruginosa Consortium is sequencing over 1000 genomes and building an analysis pipeline for the study of Pseudomonas genome evolution, antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Metadata, including genomic and phenotypic... Read More about Clinical utilization of genomics data produced by the international Pseudomonas aeruginosa consortium.

Conflict of interest and signal interference lead to the breakdown of honest signalling (2015)
Journal Article
Popat, R., Pollitt, E. J., Harrison, F., Naghra, H., Hong, K. W., Chan, K. G., …Diggle, S. P. (2015). Conflict of interest and signal interference lead to the breakdown of honest signalling. Evolution, 69(9), https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12751

Animals use signals to coordinate a wide range of behaviours, from feeding offspring to predator avoidance. This poses an evolutionary problem, because individuals could potentially signal dishonestly to coerce others into behaving in ways that benef... Read More about Conflict of interest and signal interference lead to the breakdown of honest signalling.

Biotic inactivation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal molecule (2015)
Journal Article
Soh, E. Y., Chhabra, S. R., Halliday, N., Heeb, S., Müller, C., Birmes, F. S., …Williams, P. (2015). Biotic inactivation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal molecule. Environmental Microbiology, 17(11), https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12857

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, quorum sensing (QS) regulates the production of secondary metabolites, many of which are antimicrobials that impact on polymicrobial community composition. Consequently, quenching QS modulates the environmental impact of P.... Read More about Biotic inactivation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal molecule.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulatory factor enhances the pro-inflammatory response of interferon-?-treated macrophages to pseudomonas aeruginosa infection (2015)
Journal Article
Singh, S., Barr, H. L., Liu, Y., Robins, A., Heeb, S., Williams, P., …Martinez-Pomares, L. (2015). Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulatory factor enhances the pro-inflammatory response of interferon-γ-treated macrophages to pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. PLoS ONE, 10(2), Article e0117447. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117447

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe infections at compromised epithelial surfaces, such those found in burns, wounds, and in lungs damaged by mechanical ventilation or recurrent infections, particularly in cystic... Read More about Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulatory factor enhances the pro-inflammatory response of interferon-?-treated macrophages to pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing molecules correlate with clinical status in cystic fibrosis (2015)
Journal Article
Barr, H. L., Halliday, N., Cámara, M., Barrett, D. A., Williams, P., Forrester, D. L., …Fogarty, A. W. (2015). Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing molecules correlate with clinical status in cystic fibrosis. European Respiratory Journal, 46(4), 1046-1054. https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.00225214

Copyright © ERS 2015. Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces quorum sensing signal molecules that are potential biomarkers for infection. A prospective study of 60 cystic fibrosis patients with chronic P. aeruginosa, who required intravenous antibiotics for... Read More about Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing molecules correlate with clinical status in cystic fibrosis.

[18F]FDG-6-P as a novel in vivo tool for imaging staphylococcal infections (2015)
Journal Article
Mills, B., Awais, R., Luckett, J., Turton, D., Williams, P., Perkins, A., & Hill, P. (2015). [18F]FDG-6-P as a novel in vivo tool for imaging staphylococcal infections. EJNMMI Research, 5, Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13550-015-0095-1

Background Management of infection is a major clinical problem. Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterium which colonises approximately one third of the adult human population. Staphylococcal infections can be life-threatening and are frequ... Read More about [18F]FDG-6-P as a novel in vivo tool for imaging staphylococcal infections.

Genome-wide evaluation of the interplay between Caenorhabditis elegans and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis during in vivo biofilm formation. (2014)
Journal Article
Joshua, G. W., Atkinson, S., Goldstone, R. J., Patrick, H. L., Stabler, R. A., Purves, J., …Wren, B. W. (2015). Genome-wide evaluation of the interplay between Caenorhabditis elegans and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis during in vivo biofilm formation. Infection and Immunity, 83(1), Article 17. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00110-14

The formation of an incapacitating biofilm on Caenorhabditis elegans by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis represents a tractable model for investigating the genetic basis for host-pathogen interplay during the biofilm-mediated infection of a living surface... Read More about Genome-wide evaluation of the interplay between Caenorhabditis elegans and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis during in vivo biofilm formation..

Bacterial Attachment to Polymeric Materials Correlates with Molecular Flexibility and Hydrophilicity (2014)
Journal Article
Sanni, O., Chang, C., Anderson, D. G., Langer, R., Davies, M. C., Williams, P. M., …Hook, A. L. (2015). Bacterial Attachment to Polymeric Materials Correlates with Molecular Flexibility and Hydrophilicity. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 4(5), 695-701. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201400648

A new class of material resistant to bacterial attachment has been discovered that is formed from polyacrylates with hydrocarbon pendant groups. In this study, the relationship between the nature of the hydrocarbon moiety and resistance to bacteria i... Read More about Bacterial Attachment to Polymeric Materials Correlates with Molecular Flexibility and Hydrophilicity.

LC-MS/MS Quantitative Analysis of Quorum Sensing Signal Molecules (2014)
Book Chapter
Ortori, C. A., Ortori, C., Halliday, N., Cámara, M., Williams, P., & Barrett, D. A. (2014). LC-MS/MS Quantitative Analysis of Quorum Sensing Signal Molecules. In A. Filloux, & J. Ramos (Eds.), Pseudomonas Methods and Protocols (255-270). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0473-0_21

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014. Extracts taken from spent growth media from Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be analyzed for N -acyl- L - homoserine lactones and 2-alkyl-4-(1 H)-quinolones (AQs), including the known quorum sensing signalli... Read More about LC-MS/MS Quantitative Analysis of Quorum Sensing Signal Molecules.

Targeting Staphylococcus aureus quorum sensing with nonpeptidic small molecule inhibitors (2014)
Journal Article
Murray, E. J., Crowley, R. C., Truman, A., Clarke, S. R., Cottam, J. A., Jadhav, G. P., …Williams, P. (2014). Targeting Staphylococcus aureus quorum sensing with nonpeptidic small molecule inhibitors. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 57(6), 2813-2819. https://doi.org/10.1021/jm500215s

A series of 3-oxo-C 12 -HSL, tetramic acid, and tetronic acid analogues were synthesized to gain insights into the structural requirements for quorum sensing inhibition in Staphylococcus aureus. Compounds active against agr were noncompetitive inhibi... Read More about Targeting Staphylococcus aureus quorum sensing with nonpeptidic small molecule inhibitors.

Thermally Switchable Polymers Achieve Controlled Escherichia coli Detachment (2014)
Journal Article
Hook, A. L., Chang, C., Scurr, D. J., Langer, R., Anderson, D. G., Williams, P., …Alexander, M. R. (2014). Thermally Switchable Polymers Achieve Controlled Escherichia coli Detachment. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 3(7), 1020-1025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201300518

The thermally triggered release of up to 96% of attached uropathogenic E. coli is achieved on two polymers with opposite changes in surface wettability upon reduction in temperature. This demonstrates that the bacterial attachment to a surface cannot... Read More about Thermally Switchable Polymers Achieve Controlled Escherichia coli Detachment.

Modelling and Prediction of Bacterial Attachment to Polymers (2013)
Journal Article
Epa, V., Hook, A. L., Chang, C., Yang, J., Langer, R., Anderson, D. G., …Winkler, D. A. (2014). Modelling and Prediction of Bacterial Attachment to Polymers. Advanced Functional Materials, 24(14), 2085-2093. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201302877

Infection by pathogenic bacteria on implanted and indwelling medical devices during surgery causes large morbidity and mortality worldwide. Attempts to ameliorate this important medical issue have included development of antimicrobial surfaces on mat... Read More about Modelling and Prediction of Bacterial Attachment to Polymers.

Structural basis for native agonist and synthetic inhibitor recognition by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing regulator PqsR (MvfR) (2013)
Journal Article
Ilangovan, A., Fletcher, M., Rampioni, G., Pustelny, C., Rumbaugh, K., Heeb, S., …Williams, P. (2013). Structural basis for native agonist and synthetic inhibitor recognition by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing regulator PqsR (MvfR). PLoS Pathogens, 9(7), Article e1003508. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1003508

Bacterial populations co-ordinate gene expression collectively through quorum sensing (QS), a cell-to-cell communication mechanism employing diffusible signal molecules. The LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTR) protein PqsR (MvfR) is a key comp... Read More about Structural basis for native agonist and synthetic inhibitor recognition by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing regulator PqsR (MvfR).

Interference with the germination and growth of Ulva zoospores by quorum-sensing molecules from Ulva-associated epiphytic bacteria (2013)
Journal Article
Twigg, M. S., Tait, K., Williams, P., Atkinson, S., & Cámara, M. (2014). Interference with the germination and growth of Ulva zoospores by quorum-sensing molecules from Ulva-associated epiphytic bacteria. Environmental Microbiology, 16(2), 445-453. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12203

Ulva zoospores preferentially settle on N?acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) producing marine bacterial biofilms. To investigate whether AHL signal molecules also affect the success and rate of zoospore germination in addition to zoospore attraction, the e... Read More about Interference with the germination and growth of Ulva zoospores by quorum-sensing molecules from Ulva-associated epiphytic bacteria.

Discovery of novel materials with broad resistance to bacterial attachment using combinatorial polymer microarrays (2013)
Journal Article
Hook, A. L., Chang, C., Yang, J., Atkinson, S., Langer, R., Anderson, D. G., …Alexander, M. R. (2013). Discovery of novel materials with broad resistance to bacterial attachment using combinatorial polymer microarrays. Advanced Materials, 25(18), https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201204936

A new class of bacteria-attachment-resistant materials is discovered using a multi-generation polymer microarray methodology that reduces bacterial attachment by up to 99.3% compared with a leading commercially available silver hydrogel anti-bacteria... Read More about Discovery of novel materials with broad resistance to bacterial attachment using combinatorial polymer microarrays.

Attenuating Staphylococcus aureus virulence gene regulation: A medicinal chemistry perspective (2013)
Journal Article
Gordon, C. P., Williams, P., & Chan, W. C. (2013). Attenuating Staphylococcus aureus virulence gene regulation: A medicinal chemistry perspective. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 56(4), 1389-1404. https://doi.org/10.1021/jm3014635

Virulence gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus is tightly regulated by intricate networks of transcriptional regulators and two-component signal transduction systems. There is now an emerging body of evidence to suggest that the blockade of S. au... Read More about Attenuating Staphylococcus aureus virulence gene regulation: A medicinal chemistry perspective.

High throughput discovery of thermo-responsive materials using water contact angle measurements and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (2013)
Journal Article
Hook, A. L., Scurr, D. J., Anderson, D. G., Langer, R., Williams, P., Davies, M. C., & Alexander, M. R. (2013). High throughput discovery of thermo-responsive materials using water contact angle measurements and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Surface and Interface Analysis, 45(1), https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.4910

Switchable materials that alter their chemical or physical properties in response to external stimuli allow for temporal control of material-biological interactions, thus, are of interest for many biomaterial applications. Our interest is the discove... Read More about High throughput discovery of thermo-responsive materials using water contact angle measurements and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry.

Combinatorial discovery of polymers resistant to bacterial attachment (2012)
Journal Article
Hook, A. L., Chang, C., Yang, J., Luckett, J., Cockayne, A., Atkinson, S., …Alexander, M. R. (2012). Combinatorial discovery of polymers resistant to bacterial attachment. Nature Biotechnology, 30(9), 868-875. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2316

Bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation pose key challenges to the optimal performance of medical devices. In this study, we determined the attachment of selected bacterial species to hundreds of polymeric materials in a high-throughput... Read More about Combinatorial discovery of polymers resistant to bacterial attachment.

Methicillin resistance reduces the virulence of healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus by interfering with the agr quorum sensing system (2012)
Journal Article
Rudkin, J. K., Edwards, A. M., Bowden, M. G., Brown, E. L., Pozzi, C., Waters, E. M., …Massey, R. C. (2012). Methicillin resistance reduces the virulence of healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus by interfering with the agr quorum sensing system. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 205(5), 798-806. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir845

The difficulty in successfully treating infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has led to them being referred to as highly virulent or pathogenic. In our study of one of the major healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA)... Read More about Methicillin resistance reduces the virulence of healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus by interfering with the agr quorum sensing system.

Bursting the bubble on bacterial biofilms: a flow cell methodology (2012)
Journal Article
Crusz, S. A., Popat, R., Rybtke, M. T., Cámara, M., Givskov, M., Tolker-Nielsen, T., …Williams, P. (2012). Bursting the bubble on bacterial biofilms: a flow cell methodology. Biofouling, 28(8), https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2012.716044

The flow cell biofilm system is an important and widely used tool for the in vitro cultivation and evaluation of bacterial biofilms under hydrodynamic conditions of flow. This paper provides an introduction to the background and use of such systems,... Read More about Bursting the bubble on bacterial biofilms: a flow cell methodology.

A glycopeptide dendrimer inhibitor of the galactose specific lectin LecA & of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms (2011)
Journal Article
Kadam, R. U., Bergmann, M., Hurley, M., Garg, D., Cacciarini, M., Swiderska, M. A., …Reymond, J. (2011). A glycopeptide dendrimer inhibitor of the galactose specific lectin LecA & of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 50(45), https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201104342

Biofilm inhibition is achieved with a phenylgalactosyl peptide dendrimer (see picture) that binds to the galactose-specific lectin LecA of P.?aeruginosa. The multivalency of the ligands is critical for biofilm inhibition, although the nature of the l... Read More about A glycopeptide dendrimer inhibitor of the galactose specific lectin LecA & of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Garlic as an inhibitor of pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing in cystic fibrosis - A pilot randomized controlled trial (2010)
Journal Article
Smyth, A. R., Cifelli, P. M., Ortori, C. A., Righetti, K., Lewis, S., Erskine, P., …Knox, A. (2010). Garlic as an inhibitor of pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing in cystic fibrosis - A pilot randomized controlled trial. Pediatric Pulmonology, 45(4), 356-362. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.21193

Pseudomonas aeruginosa forms biofilms in the cystic fibrosis lung. Quorum sensing (QS) controls biofilm maturation, immune evasion, antibiotic tolerance and virulence factor production. Garlic shows QS inhibitory activity in vitro and in animal model... Read More about Garlic as an inhibitor of pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing in cystic fibrosis - A pilot randomized controlled trial.

High throughput methods applied in biomaterial development and discovery (2010)
Journal Article
Hook, A. L., Anderson, D. G., Langer, R., Williams, P., Davies, M. C., & Alexander, M. R. (2010). High throughput methods applied in biomaterial development and discovery. Biomaterials, 31(2), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.09.037

The high throughput discovery of new materials can be achieved by rapidly screening many different materials synthesised by a combinatorial approach to identify the optimal material that fulfils a particular biomedical application. Here we review the... Read More about High throughput methods applied in biomaterial development and discovery.

Differential Recognition of Staphylococcus aureus Quorum-Sensing Signals Depends on Both Extracellular Loops 1 and 2 of the Transmembrane Sensor AgrC (2008)
Journal Article
Jensen, R. O., Winzer, K., Clarke, S. R., Chan, W. C., & Williams, P. (2008). Differential Recognition of Staphylococcus aureus Quorum-Sensing Signals Depends on Both Extracellular Loops 1 and 2 of the Transmembrane Sensor AgrC. Journal of Molecular Biology, 381(2), 300-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2008.06.018

Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus is regulated via agr-dependent quorum sensing in which an autoinducing peptide (AIP) activates AgrC, a histidine protein kinase. AIPs are usually thiolactones containing seven to nine amino acid residues in which th... Read More about Differential Recognition of Staphylococcus aureus Quorum-Sensing Signals Depends on Both Extracellular Loops 1 and 2 of the Transmembrane Sensor AgrC.

Look who's talking: Communication and quorum sensing in the bacterial world (2007)
Journal Article
Williams, P., Winzer, K., Chan, W. C., & Cámara, M. (2007). Look who's talking: Communication and quorum sensing in the bacterial world. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences, 362(1483), 1119-1134. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2007.2039

For many years bacteria were considered primarily as autonomous unicellular organisms with little capacity for collective behaviour. However, we now appreciate that bacterial cells are in fact, highly communicative. The generic term 'quorum sensing'... Read More about Look who's talking: Communication and quorum sensing in the bacterial world.

Side-chain-to-tail thiolactone peptide inhibitors of the staphylococcal quorum-sensing system (2003)
Journal Article
Scott, R. J., Lian, L. Y., Muharram, S. H., Cockayne, A., Wood, S. J., Bycroft, B. W., …Chan, W. C. (2003). Side-chain-to-tail thiolactone peptide inhibitors of the staphylococcal quorum-sensing system. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 13(15), 2449-2453. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-894X%2803%2900497-9

The expression of many staphylococcal virulence factors are regulated by the agr locus via a two-component signal transduction system (TCSTS), which is activated in response to a secreted autoinducer peptide (AIP). By exploiting the unique chemical a... Read More about Side-chain-to-tail thiolactone peptide inhibitors of the staphylococcal quorum-sensing system.