Background: Biofilm associated infections are the major contributor to mortality, morbidity and financial burden in patients with a bacterial infection. Molecules with surfactant behavior are known to show significant antibiofilm effect against these infections. Thus, newly discovered antibacterial Fmoc-phenylalanine (Fmoc-F) and other Fmoc-amino acids (Fmoc-AA) with surfactant properties, could have potential antibiofilm properties. Objectives: To evaluate and characterize the antibiofilm activity of Fmoc-F and some Fmoc-AA against various clinically relevant bacteria. Methods: Biofilm inhibition and eradication were evaluated by crystal violet staining procedure along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Attenuated Total Reflection - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Biochemical assays, and Congo red staining were employed to investigate the mechanism of antibiofilm action. Results: We showed that Fmoc-F not only inhibits the biofilm formation in S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, but also eradicates the already formed biofilms over the surface. Further, Fmoc-F coated glass surface resists S. aureus and P. aeruginosa biofilm formation and attachment, when biofilm is grown over the surface. The mechanistic investigation suggests that Fmoc-F reduces the ECM components such as proteins carbohydrates and eDNA in the biofilm and affect its stability via direct interactions with ECM components and/ or indirectly through reducing bacterial cell population. Finally, we showed that Fmoc-F treatment in combination with other antibiotics such as vancomycin and ampicillin synergistically inhibit biofilm formation. Conclusions: Overall, the study demonstrates the potential application of Fmoc-F and other Fmoc-AA molecules individually as well as in combination as antibiofilm agents and antibiofilm coating material for treating biofilm-associated infections.

中文翻译：

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Fmoc-苯丙氨酸对革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌生物膜的抗生物膜活性。

背景：与生物膜相关的感染是细菌感染患者死亡率，发病率和经济负担的主要因素。已知具有表面活性剂行为的分子对这些感染显示出显着的抗生物膜作用。因此，新发现的具有表面活性剂特性的抗菌Fmoc-苯丙氨酸（Fmoc-F）和其他Fmoc-氨基酸（Fmoc-AA）可能具有潜在的抗生物膜特性。目的：评估和表征Fmoc-F和一些Fmoc-AA对各种临床相关细菌的抗生物膜活性。方法：通过结晶紫染色程序和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）评估生物膜的抑制和根除作用。衰减全反射-傅立叶变换红外光谱（ATR-FTIR），生化分析，用刚果红染色研究抗生物膜作用的机理。结果：我们显示Fmoc-F不仅抑制金黄色葡萄球菌和铜绿假单胞菌中的生物膜形成，而且还消除了表面上已经形成的生物膜。此外，当在表面上生长生物膜时，Fmoc-F涂层的玻璃表面可抵抗金黄色葡萄球菌和铜绿假单胞菌生物膜的形成和附着。机理研究表明，Fmoc-F减少了生物膜中的ECM成分，如蛋白质，碳水化合物和eDNA，并通过与ECM成分的直接相互作用和/或通过减少细菌细胞数量间接影响了其稳定性。最后，我们显示Fmoc-F与其他抗生素（例如万古霉素和氨苄青霉素）联合使用可协同抑制生物膜的形成。结论：总体而言，