Interference of phosphane copper (I) complexes of β-carboline with quorum sensing regulated virulence functions and biofilm in foodborne pathogenic bacteria: A first report

• Main Authors: Nasser A. Al-Shabib, Fohad Mabood Husain, Rais Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Shavez Khan, Mohammad Zubair Alam, Firoz Ahmad Ansari, Sameen Laeeq, Mohammad Zubair, Syed Ali Shahzad, Javed Masood Khan, Ali Alsalme, Iqbal Ahmad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-02-01
• Series: Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X18300962

Foodborne pathogens are one of the major cause of food-related diseases and food poisoning. Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing (QS) mechanism of cell–cell communication have also been found to be associated with several outbreaks of foodborne diseases and are great threat to food safety. Therefore, In the present study, we investigated the activity of three tetrahedrally coordinated copper(I) complexes against quorum sensing and biofilms of foodborne bacteria. All the three complexes demonstrated similar antimicrobial properties against the selected pathogens. Concentration below the MIC i.e. at sub-MICs all the three complexes interfered significantly with the quorum sensing regulated functions in C. violaceum (violacein), P. aeruginosa (elastase, pyocyanin and alginate production) and S. marcescens (prodigiosin). The complexes demonstrated potent broad-spectrum biofilm inhibition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Chromobacterium violaceum, Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Listeria monocytogenes. Biofilm inhibition was visualized using SEM and CLSM images. Action of the copper(I) complexes on two key QS regulated functions contributing to biofilm formation i.e. EPS production and swarming motility was also studied and statistically significant reduction was recorded. These results could form the basis for development of safe anti-QS and anti-biofilm agents that can be utilized in the food industry as well as healthcare sector to prevent food-associated diseases. Keywords: Copper compounds, Biofilm, Quorum sensing, Food safety, Pathogens