Role of the cell-wall structure in the retention of bacteria by microfiltration membranes

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• 作者：Nathalie Lebleu ; Christine Roques ; Pierre Aimar ; Christel Causser
• 关键词：Microfiltration ; Bacteria ; Transfer ; Retention ; Deformation
• 刊名：Journal of Membrane Science
• 出版年：2009
• 出版时间：5 January 2009
• 年：2009
• 卷：326
• 期：1
• 页码：178-185
• 全文大小：523 K

文摘

This experimental study investigates the retention of bacteria by porous membranes. The transfer of bacteria larger than the nominal pore size of microfiltration track-etched membranes has been studied for several kinds of bacterial strains. This unexpected transfer does not correlate to the hydrophobicity, neither to the surface charge of the microorganism, as suggested in previous reports. We conclude that, in our conditions, the kind of bacteria (Gram-positive or Gram-negative) is finally the most important parameter. As the distinction between those two types of bacteria is related to the cell-wall structure, we provide an experimental evidence, via the action of an antibiotic, that the cell-wall flexibility triggers the transfer of the bacteria through artificial membranes, when the pores are smaller in size than the cell.