Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) derived from renewable resources are suitable for being a biocompatible polyvalent glyconanomaterial platform. The nanofibrils have low cytotoxicity toward human cells and tissues, and the prevalent hydroxyl or carboxylate groups on the CNFs enable the nanofibrils to be easily functionalized. In this study, carboxylated CNFs were rendered bioactive via one-step functionalization with mannopyranoside (CNFs-mannose) for control of bacterial pathogenesis. The recognition affinity of the bioactive surfaces towards fimbriated Escherichia coli (E. coli) was assessed using genetically engineered strain (FimH+) as well as wild-type (WT) MG1655 bacteria. The CNFs-mannose nanofibrils were capable of capturing E. coli from liquid suspensions, as demonstrated either by the nanofibril clusters or by the cellulose filter papers impregnated with CNFs-mannose. More importantly, CNFs-mannose efficiently inhibits adhesion of both FimH+ and WT E. coli to mannosylated surfaces even at a very low concentration, resulting in over 95% reduction of bacterial adhesion. The findings highlight the potential of cellulose nanofibrils as a biocompatible polyvalent nanoscale scaffold and exemplify sugar grafted nanofibrils as novel and effective tools in control of bacterial pathogenesis, bacterial removal as well as in many other applications.

Nanocellulose as a glyconanomaterial platform towards bacterial capture and anti-adhesion

ACS Spring 2022

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