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Cieśluk M, Deptuła P, Piktel E, Fiedoruk K, Suprewicz Ł, Paprocka P, Kot P, Pogoda K, Bucki R. Physics Comes to the Aid of Medicine-Clinically-Relevant Microorganisms through the Eyes of Atomic Force Microscope. Pathogens 2020; 9:pathogens9110969. [PMID: 33233696 PMCID: PMC7699805 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9110969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the hope that was raised with the implementation of antibiotics to the treatment of infections in medical practice, the initial enthusiasm has substantially faded due to increasing drug resistance in pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, there is a need for novel analytical and diagnostic methods in order to extend our knowledge regarding the mode of action of the conventional and novel antimicrobial agents from a perspective of single microbial cells as well as their communities growing in infected sites, i.e., biofilms. In recent years, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been mostly used to study different aspects of the pathophysiology of noninfectious conditions with attempts to characterize morphological and rheological properties of tissues, individual mammalian cells as well as their organelles and extracellular matrix, and cells’ mechanical changes upon exposure to different stimuli. At the same time, an ever-growing number of studies have demonstrated AFM as a valuable approach in studying microorganisms in regard to changes in their morphology and nanomechanical properties, e.g., stiffness in response to antimicrobial treatment or interaction with a substrate as well as the mechanisms behind their virulence. This review summarizes recent developments and the authors’ point of view on AFM-based evaluation of microorganisms’ response to applied antimicrobial treatment within a group of selected bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The AFM potential in development of modern diagnostic and therapeutic methods for combating of infections caused by drug-resistant bacterial strains is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateusz Cieśluk
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Bialystok, PL-15222 Bialystok, Poland; (M.C.); (P.D.); (E.P.); (K.F.); (Ł.S.)
| | - Piotr Deptuła
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Bialystok, PL-15222 Bialystok, Poland; (M.C.); (P.D.); (E.P.); (K.F.); (Ł.S.)
| | - Ewelina Piktel
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Bialystok, PL-15222 Bialystok, Poland; (M.C.); (P.D.); (E.P.); (K.F.); (Ł.S.)
| | - Krzysztof Fiedoruk
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Bialystok, PL-15222 Bialystok, Poland; (M.C.); (P.D.); (E.P.); (K.F.); (Ł.S.)
| | - Łukasz Suprewicz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Bialystok, PL-15222 Bialystok, Poland; (M.C.); (P.D.); (E.P.); (K.F.); (Ł.S.)
| | - Paulina Paprocka
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, Collegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, PL-25317 Kielce, Poland; (P.P.); (P.K.)
| | - Patrycja Kot
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, Collegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, PL-25317 Kielce, Poland; (P.P.); (P.K.)
| | - Katarzyna Pogoda
- Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342 Krakow, Poland;
| | - Robert Bucki
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Bialystok, PL-15222 Bialystok, Poland; (M.C.); (P.D.); (E.P.); (K.F.); (Ł.S.)
- Correspondence:
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