Biology subjects

Paleczny, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Paleczny, J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

No Miracle, Just a Mineral: The Not-So-Magical Antimicrobial World of Chlorine Dioxide

This study evaluates the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy and cytotoxicity of acidified sodium chlorite (ASC), a source of chlorine dioxide. Despite its controversial promotion in alternative medicine as a cure-all solution, known as "Miracle Mineral Solution" (MMS), the data on its factual medicinal activity is very limited. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the activity of ASC against biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mutans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Lactobacillus sp. The study also investigated the in vitro cytotoxic effects of ASC towards eukaryotic fibroblasts and in in vivo model of Galleria mellonella larvae. Our findings demonstrate that these concentrations of ASC which can effectively eradicate biofilms, also pose potential health risks due to their in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity. It implies that ASC applied in human can lead to damage to the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract. This research contributes to the ongoing debate on the safety and efficacy of chlorine dioxide in clinical applications, highlighting the need for precise dosing to avoid mucosal damage in therapeutic contexts.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

Chronic Wound Milieu Challenges Essential Oils' Antibiofilm Activity

The treatment of infected non-healing wounds poses a significant challenge to contemporary medicine. Essential oils (EOs) are being increasingly investigated as potential antibiofilm agents for the management of biofilm-related wound infections. However, their in vitro antimicrobial activity reported in literature does not necessarily reflect the actual in vivo activity due to, among others, methodological imperfections of performed tests. In our study, we cultivated a Staphylococcus aureus biofilm in a novel IVWM (In Vitro Wound Milieu) medium designed to simulate the wound environment and compared it with biofilms cultured in the standard microbiological Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) medium. We examined and compared critical biofilm properties such as morphology, biomass, metabolic activity, cell count, thickness, and spatial distribution of live and dead cells. Subsequently, staphylococcal biofilms and planktonic cells cultured in both media were exposed to the activity of thyme or rosemary EOs (T-EO, R-EO, respectively). We found that morphology of biofilms cultured in IVWM resembled more the morphology of biofilms visualized in the non-healing wounds than biofilms cultured in TSB. The biomass, metabolic activity, cell number, and the ratio of live to dead cells of S. aureus biofilms were all lower in IVWM compared to the TSB medium. Additionally, while EOs demonstrated overall significant anti-staphylococcal activity, their efficacy varied depending on the medium used. Generally, EOs displayed lower antimicrobial activity (against planktonic cells) in the IVWM than in the TSB medium. Interestingly, T-EO caused a higher reduction of biofilm cells in IVWM than in the TSB medium, in contrast to R-EO. Our findings suggest that EOs hold promise as agents for the treatment of biofilm-related wound infections. However, it is crucial to apply in vitro conditions that closely reflect the wound infection site to gain an accurate insight into the real-world activity of these antimicrobial/antibiofilm agents.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

The processing of staphylococcal biofilm images from Fluorescence and Confocal Microscopy to assess in vitro efficacy of antiseptic molecules

The staphylococcal biofilms are major causative factors of non-healing wound infections. Their treatment algorithms recommend the use of locally applied antiseptic agents to counteract the spread of infection. The efficacy of antiseptics against biofilm is assessed in vitro by a set of standard quantitative and semi-quantitative methods. The development of software for image processing allowed to obtain quantitative data also from microscopic images of biofilm dyed with propidium iodine and SYTO-9 reagents, differentiating dead cells from the live ones. In this work, the method of assessment of the impact of antiseptic agents on staphylococcal biofilm in vitro, based on biofilms processed images, was proposed and scrutinized with regard to clinically-relevant antiseptics. Taking into account the fact that in vitro results of the efficacy of antiseptic agents against staphylococcal biofilm are frequently applied to back up their use in hospitals and ambulatory units, our work should be considered an important tool providing reliable, quantitative data with this regard.

microbiology↗