Adsorption of bacteriophages on polypropylene labware affects the reproducibility of phage research

Abstract Hydrophobicity is one of the most critical factors governing the adsorption of molecules and objects, such as virions, on surfaces. Even moderate change of wetting angle of plastic surfaces causes a drastic decrease ranging from 2 to 5 logs of the viruses (e.g., T4 phage) in the suspension...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Łukasz Richter, Karolina Księżarczyk, Karolina Paszkowska, Marta Janczuk-Richter, Joanna Niedziółka-Jönsson, Jacek Gapiński, Marcin Łoś, Robert Hołyst, Jan Paczesny
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/c466dbe6c3284005b81ea654db2a385c
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract Hydrophobicity is one of the most critical factors governing the adsorption of molecules and objects, such as virions, on surfaces. Even moderate change of wetting angle of plastic surfaces causes a drastic decrease ranging from 2 to 5 logs of the viruses (e.g., T4 phage) in the suspension due to adsorption on polymer vials' walls. The effect varies immensely in seemingly identical containers but purchased from different vendors. Comparison of glass, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene containers revealed a threshold in the wetting angle of around 95°: virions adsorb on the surface of more hydrophobic containers, while in more hydrophilic vials, phage suspensions are stable. The polypropylene surface of the Eppendorf-type and Falcon-type can accommodate from around 108 PFU/ml to around 1010 PFU/ml from the suspension. The adsorption onto the container’s wall might result in complete scavenging of virions from the bulk. We developed two methods to overcome this issue. The addition of surfactant Tween20 and/or plasma treatment provides a remedy by modulating surface wettability and inhibiting virions' adsorption. Plastic containers are essential consumables in the daily use of many bio-laboratories. Thus, this is important not only for phage-related research (e.g., the use of phage therapies as an alternative for antibiotics) but also for data comparison and reproducibility in the field of biochemistry and virology.