Adhesion of lactobacilli to urinary catheters and diapers: Effect of surface properties

✍ Scribed by Reid, Gregor ;Lam, Dominique ;Bruce, Andrew W. ;van der Mei, Henny C. ;Busscher, Henk J.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 384 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9304
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.820280610

✦ Synopsis

Thirteen strains of lactobacilli were tested for their ability to adhere to commercial devices used in the urinary tract. Although it appeared that the most hydrophilic organisms adhered in highest numbers, there was no significant cor- relation between water contact angle and adhesiveness to catheters. Five organisms tested were found to be highly adherent to Huggies commercial diapers. Loss in hydro-phobicity upon serial culture of Lactobacillus fermenturn B-54 was not due to a proteinaceous S layer, although protein involvement per se cannot be ruled out. It was evident that, not only can members of the normal female urogenital flora adhere to commonly used commercial prostheses, but their ability to attach is related to hydrophilic as well as hydrophobic surface components.