TTC- Based Test as an Efficient Method to Determine Antibiofilm Activity of Silver Nanoparticles

Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, Microbiology Department, Kossutha 6, 40-844 Katowice, Poland

^* Corresponding author: chojniak@ietu.katowice.pl

Abstract

Among metal nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles are a widely used in various life sectors such as in biomedical applications, air and water purification, food production, cosmetics, garments and in various household products. There are several methods for production of silver nanoparticles. Generally, silver nanoparticles can be prepared by chemical methods such as chemical reduction and electrochemical techniques, physical methods, and biological methods such as the use of microorganisms. The biological route of synthesis provides a great diversity in choice for its raw materials such as bacteria, algae, fungi and plants. The aim of the study was to evaluate the tetrazolium/formazan test as a method to determine antibiofilm activity of biological synthetized silver nanoparticles. In this study Bacillus subtilis grown on brewery effluent and produced biosurfactant was used for silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) synthesis. The culture supernatants were used in synthesis of Ag-NPs. The formation of nanoparticles accompanied by colour changes of the used reaction system was confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The bacteria isolated from the biofilm of water supply system were used in the evaluation of the antibiofilm activity of biologically synthetized Ag-NPs. To compare the results the commonly used crystal violet assay (CV) for biofilm analysis was applied.