Prevention of nonspecific bacterial cell adhesion in immunoassays by use of cranberry juice

Anal Chem. 2006 Feb 1;78(3):853-7. doi: 10.1021/ac051700v.

Abstract

The ability of Vaccinum macrocarpon, the North American cranberry, to prevent bacterial adhesion has been used to advantage in the prevention of urinary tract infections and has recently been described for the prevention of adhesion of bacteria responsible for oral infections and stomach ulcers. This report documents the ability of cranberry juice to reduce nonspecific adhesion of bacteria to the borosilicate glass microscope slides used in an immunoarray biosensor format. Nonspecific binding of analytes in the array sensor leads to high background signals that cause increased detection limits and false positives. Reduction in background-to-signal ratios can be seen as the juice concentration is increased from 0 to 50% of the sample. This impact cannot be duplicated with grape, orange, apple, or white cranberry juice. Sugar content and pH have been eliminated as the agents in the juice responsible for the anti-adhesive activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / analysis
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Adhesion / drug effects*
  • Beverages*
  • Binding Sites
  • Biosensing Techniques / methods
  • Escherichia coli / cytology
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects*
  • Immunoassay / methods
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Time Factors
  • Vaccinium macrocarpon / chemistry*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Plant Extracts