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Introduction Although Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of biofilm-related infections, the lipidomic distributions within these biofilms is poorly understood. Here, lipidomic mapping of S. aureus biofilm cross-sections was performed to investigate heterogeneity between horizontal biofilm layers. Methods S. aureus biofilms were grown statically, embedded in a mixture of carboxymethylcellulose/gelatin, and prepared for downstream matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI IMS). Trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) was also applied prior to mass analysis. Results Implementation of TIMS led to a ∼ threefold increase in the number of lipid species detected. Washing biofilm samples with ammonium formate (150 mM) increased signal intensity for some bacterial lipids by as much as tenfold, with minimal disruption of the biofilm structure. MALDI TIMS IMS revealed that most lipids localize primarily to a single biofilm layer, and species from the same lipid class such as cardiolipins CL(57:0) – CL(66:0) display starkly different localizations, exhibiting between 1.5 and 6.3-fold intensity differences between layers (n = 3, p < 0.03). No horizontal layers were observed within biofilms grown anaerobically, and lipids were distributed homogenously. Conclusions High spatial resolution analysis of S. aureus biofilm cross-sections by MALDI TIMS IMS revealed stark lipidomic heterogeneity between horizontal S. aureus biofilm layers demonstrating that each layer was molecularly distinct. Finally, this workflow uncovered an absence of layers in biofilms grown under anaerobic conditions, possibly indicating that oxygen contributes to the observed heterogeneity under aerobic conditions. Future applications of this workflow to study spatially localized molecular responses to antimicrobials could provide new therapeutic strategies.
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Three‐dimensional printed microfluidic mixer/extractor for cell lysis and lipidomic profiling by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry
Abstract Lipidomic profiling has been linked to the detection of cancers as dysregulation of lipid metabolism is closely associated with many disease states. Current work on chip‐based profiling has been limited and is largely hindered by issues associated with the chip's sophisticated fabrication processes. We report here the design and fabrication of a highly efficient microfluidic mixer/extractor by using three‐dimensional (3D) printing technology for on‐chip cell lysis/enrichment for lipidomic profiling with matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS). The platform consists of a micropillar mixer for flow‐through lysis and an on‐chip reservoir to separate phases where the lipid‐enriched layer was collected for subsequent MS analysis. The mass transfer between the two phases was simulated by a computational fluid dynamics study, and the efficiency in cell lysis in different extraction solvent systems was characterized by fluorescence microscopy. Results showed increased performance in extraction with the micropillar mixer as compared with the standard Bligh‐Dyer method. For lipid profiling ofC. reinhardtiicells by MALDI‐MS, over 65 lipid species from the monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol, diacylglyceryltrimethylhomo‐Ser, and triacylglycerol lipid families have been identified. The effect of organic solvents on extraction and lipid profiles was also investigated, and the results indicated that the extractant formula has a diverse impact on the collection of certain types of lipid species, presenting useful guidance for the system to be applied to targeted enrichment of lipids with specific cells. The microfluidic chips by the 3D printing technique reported here offer new platforms potentially for clinical lipidomics and can provide a novel avenue in disease diagnosis.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2109042
- PAR ID:
- 10398165
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- VIEW
- Volume:
- 4
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2688-268X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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