The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the
Ti (IV)-citrate complex on growth dynamics and biofilm formation of S.
aureus. Speciation analysis was performed in order to estimate the structure
of the Ti complex existing in citrate solutions at near-physiological pH. It
is estimated that the fully deprotonated tris(citrate)titanate ion
[Ti(C6H4O7)3]8- predominates in solution at pH 6.46-7.44, and that this is
most probably the biologically active form of Ti(IV)-citrate. In in vitro
experiments, increasing concentrations of citric acid solutions (0.05, 0.005,
0.0005 M), served as positive controls, while the effects of respective
concentrations of Ti(IV)-citrate were examined. The obtained results indicate
that citrate decreased S. aureus 48 growth at all studied concentrations,
whereas S. aureus 44 growth was decreased only by high concentrations of
citrate (0.05M). Incubation of S. aureus culture with Ti(IV)-citrate
significantly potentiated citrate-induced effects. Ti(IV)-citrate
significantly altered specific bacterial growth rate in a similar manner. The
most significant growth reduction was observed at the initial period of
bacterial growth. At the same time, the opposite effect was detected in
investigations of the effect of citrate and Ti(IV)-citrate on S. aureus
biofilm formation. Citric acid suppressed S. aureus biofilm formation,
whereas Ti(IV)-citrate displayed a significant stimulatory effect. Our
findings suggest that Ti(IV)-citrate possesses a more pronounced biological
effect than citrate. The proposed mechanism of this action is activation of
complex transport into the cell and induction of oxidative stress. However,
the exact mechanism of Ti(IV)-citrate biological action on bacterial cultures
remains unknown.
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