Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content
IntroductionPathogens can easily transmit via surfaces and objects. In light of the ongoing pandemic of antimicrobial resistance, silently threatening millions worldwide, this is of particular concern in clinical and public environments. Thus, it is crucial to understand how antimicrobial materials...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1659828/full |
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| author | Yen Ly-Sauerbrey Ronja Anton Laura Kopruch Carolin Luisa Krämer Carolin Luisa Krämer Alessa L. Boschert Alessa L. Boschert Claudio Neidhöfer Oliver Schwengers Daniela Zander Daniela Zander Stefan Leuko |
| author_facet | Yen Ly-Sauerbrey Ronja Anton Laura Kopruch Carolin Luisa Krämer Carolin Luisa Krämer Alessa L. Boschert Alessa L. Boschert Claudio Neidhöfer Oliver Schwengers Daniela Zander Daniela Zander Stefan Leuko |
| author_sort | Yen Ly-Sauerbrey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionPathogens can easily transmit via surfaces and objects. In light of the ongoing pandemic of antimicrobial resistance, silently threatening millions worldwide, this is of particular concern in clinical and public environments. Thus, it is crucial to understand how antimicrobial materials influence surface-associated microbes and microbial communities. Copper, known for its antimicrobial activity, has demonstrated effectiveness against numerous clinically relevant pathogens. However, these in vitro pure cultures are in stark contrast to the in vivo microbial communities. Additionally, the application of pure copper surfaces is high in cost and maintenance.MethodsHence, in this study we not only tested the antibacterial effectivity of different copper concentrations against single species, but also against a reference bacterial community representing the most abundant bacterial genera in public transport. This allowed a comparison of the antibacterial efficacy of copper against a bacterial community and against single species. Coatings on glass, which were composed of full copper (100 at.% Cu) and copper-aluminum alloys with different Cu contents (79 at.%, 53 at.% and 24 at.%) were tested with two selected single species (Burkholderia lata DSM 23089T and Staphylococcus capitis DSM 111179) and those species within the bacterial community.ResultsIn general, the survival of the two species within the bacterial community was higher compared to their respective survival as a single species, significantly for S. capitis. Surfaces with 100 at.% copper content showed the greatest antibacterial effect in terms of bacterial survival, with a reduced survival of up to 10−6. The 79 at.% Cu coating only had an inhibitory effect on the metabolic activity of B. lata when exposed to the surfaces as single species.DiscussionOur results highlight the benefits of additional testing of microbial communities rather than pure cultures. These experiments allow for enhanced evaluation of antimicrobial surfaces since they also take complex and diverse interactions within a surface microbiota into account. Therefore, community testing might be the more holistic approach for the testing of antibacterial materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dfcf68dcb1c8494da1f1431e23083d9c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-dfcf68dcb1c8494da1f1431e23083d9c2025-08-26T05:27:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-08-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.16598281659828Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper contentYen Ly-Sauerbrey0Ronja Anton1Laura Kopruch2Carolin Luisa Krämer3Carolin Luisa Krämer4Alessa L. Boschert5Alessa L. Boschert6Claudio Neidhöfer7Oliver Schwengers8Daniela Zander9Daniela Zander10Stefan Leuko11Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, GermanyInstitute for Frontier Materials on Earth and in Space, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, GermanyChair of Corrosion and Corrosion Protection, Foundry Institute, Division of Materials Science and Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyInstitute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, GermanyDepartment of Natural Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyMVZ Laboratory Dr. Limbach and Colleagues eGbR, Heidelberg, GermanyInstitute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, GermanyDivision of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, GermanyInstitute for Frontier Materials on Earth and in Space, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, GermanyChair of Corrosion and Corrosion Protection, Foundry Institute, Division of Materials Science and Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyInstitute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, GermanyIntroductionPathogens can easily transmit via surfaces and objects. In light of the ongoing pandemic of antimicrobial resistance, silently threatening millions worldwide, this is of particular concern in clinical and public environments. Thus, it is crucial to understand how antimicrobial materials influence surface-associated microbes and microbial communities. Copper, known for its antimicrobial activity, has demonstrated effectiveness against numerous clinically relevant pathogens. However, these in vitro pure cultures are in stark contrast to the in vivo microbial communities. Additionally, the application of pure copper surfaces is high in cost and maintenance.MethodsHence, in this study we not only tested the antibacterial effectivity of different copper concentrations against single species, but also against a reference bacterial community representing the most abundant bacterial genera in public transport. This allowed a comparison of the antibacterial efficacy of copper against a bacterial community and against single species. Coatings on glass, which were composed of full copper (100 at.% Cu) and copper-aluminum alloys with different Cu contents (79 at.%, 53 at.% and 24 at.%) were tested with two selected single species (Burkholderia lata DSM 23089T and Staphylococcus capitis DSM 111179) and those species within the bacterial community.ResultsIn general, the survival of the two species within the bacterial community was higher compared to their respective survival as a single species, significantly for S. capitis. Surfaces with 100 at.% copper content showed the greatest antibacterial effect in terms of bacterial survival, with a reduced survival of up to 10−6. The 79 at.% Cu coating only had an inhibitory effect on the metabolic activity of B. lata when exposed to the surfaces as single species.DiscussionOur results highlight the benefits of additional testing of microbial communities rather than pure cultures. These experiments allow for enhanced evaluation of antimicrobial surfaces since they also take complex and diverse interactions within a surface microbiota into account. Therefore, community testing might be the more holistic approach for the testing of antibacterial materials.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1659828/fullantimicrobial materialscopper coatingbacterial communitycopper gradientmicrobial load |
| spellingShingle | Yen Ly-Sauerbrey Ronja Anton Laura Kopruch Carolin Luisa Krämer Carolin Luisa Krämer Alessa L. Boschert Alessa L. Boschert Claudio Neidhöfer Oliver Schwengers Daniela Zander Daniela Zander Stefan Leuko Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content Frontiers in Microbiology antimicrobial materials copper coating bacterial community copper gradient microbial load |
| title | Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content |
| title_full | Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content |
| title_short | Comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content |
| title_sort | comparison of single bacteria and a bacterial reference community in a test against coated surfaces of varying copper content |
| topic | antimicrobial materials copper coating bacterial community copper gradient microbial load |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1659828/full |
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