A Direct Quantitative Agar-Plate Based Assay for Analysis of Pseudomonas protegens PF-5 Degradation of Polyurethane Films (Postprint)

Abstract

A quantitative assay was developed for the direct measurement of polymer film degradation from bacterial colonies on agar plates. Small (1 mm diameter) colonies of Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 (formerly Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5) were used for this work. Interactions between the Pf-5 colonies and thin polyurethane (PU) coatings on ZnSe coupons were evaluated for degradation using infrared spectroscopy. Three different coatings were analyzed and were formed from 1) a colloidal, aqueous e based polyester PU (Impranil' DLN); 2) an organic solvent e based polyester PU (Irogran); and 3) an organic solvent e based polyether PU (AS-P108). Over a 24 h time period at 30 C, citrate exposed Pf-5 cultures rapidly degraded Impranil coatings, consistent with analogous zone clearing assays. However, the Irogran and AS-P108 PU's, which are not directly compatible with zone clearing assays, showed no measureable degradation by the coating assay under identical conditions. These results demonstrated the capability to evaluate any variety of polymer formulation as solid films under identical biological conditions. The results also show that rapid microbial degradation of colloidal polyurethanes such as Impranil are not necessarily representative of activity towards other PU materials.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 02, 2014
Accession Number
ADA610985

Entities

People

  • Daniel E Barlow
  • David M. Babson
  • John N. Russell Jr.
  • Justin C Biffinger
  • Lisa A. Fitzgerald
  • Lloyd J. Nadeau
  • Russell K. Pirlo
  • Sandra Zingarelli
  • Wendy J. Crookes-goodson

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Alcohols
  • Biodegradation
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Fatty Acids
  • Films
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Military Research
  • Polymer Degradation
  • Polymeric Films
  • Polymers
  • Pseudomonas Infections
  • Spectra
  • Spectroscopy

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Parasitology and Pharmacology of Malaria.
  • Polymer Science and Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology