Abstract
Biofilm formation protects bacteria from antibiotic treatment and host immune responses, making biofilm infections difficult to treat. Within biofilms, bacterial cells are entangled in a self-produced extracellular matrix that typically includes exopolysaccharides. Molecular-level descriptions of biofilm matrix components, especially exopolysaccharides, have been challenging to attain due to their complex nature and lack of solubility and crystallinity. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has emerged as a key tool to determine the structure of biofilm matrix exopolysaccharides without degradative sample preparation. In this review, we discuss challenges of studying biofilm matrix exopolysaccharides and opportunities to develop solid-state NMR approaches to study these generally intractable materials. We specifically highlight investigations of the exopolysaccharide called Pel made by the opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We provide a roadmap for determining exopolysaccharide structure and discuss future opportunities to study such systems using solid-state NMR. The strategies discussed for elucidating biofilm exopolysaccharide structure should be broadly applicable to studying the structures of other glycans.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 361-369 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2024 |
Keywords
- C
- EPS
- N
- NMR
- P
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- biofilm
- biofilm matrix
- exopolysaccharides
- solid-state NMR