Author(s)

Maria Eduarda de Farias Albuquerque Gaspar de Oliveira¹, Christina Alves Peixoto², Rosa Valéria da Silva Amorim^1*

¹Programa de Pós-Graduação em Morfotecnologia, Departamento de Histologia e Embriologia, Universidade Federal da Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Brazil.
²Departamento de Ultraestrutura, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brazil.

The continuous search for an antimicrobial agent led to the identification of potential antimicrobial biomaterials based on polymers naturals, such as chitosan (CS). However, the mechanism of action of antibacterial activity of CS for gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria was not completely elucidated. The aim of this work is to report the antibacterial activity of CS through ultrastructural analyses of the clinical isolates Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by Transmission Electron Microscopy. The CS has a bactericidal action against S. aureus and E. coli which alters its cellular ultrastructure, such as with collapsed cell walls, condensed chromatin and the increase of intracellulares structures like vacuoles and cell debris. In this way, the CS represents a potential model for the future design of antibacterial in order to control bacterial resistance of patients in hospital settings.

Antibacterial Activity, Chitosan, Ultrastructure, Staphylococcus aureu, Escherichia coli

Oliveira, M. , Peixoto, C. and Amorim, R. (2019) Ultrastructural Analysis of Chitosan Antibacterial Activity against Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Advances in Microbiology, 9, 893-903. doi: 10.4236/aim.2019.910055.