Surface bio-magnetism on bacterial cells adhesion and surface proteins secretion

Extensive research works have been done on using magnetic fields on biological organism, but the results till date have been controversial [D.O. Carpenter, S. Ayrapetyan (Eds.), Biological Effects of Electric and Magnetic Fields, vol. 1. Academic Press. San Diego. 1994]. In spite of this, the study of surface magnetic effects on bacterial adhesion and cell growth has not been rigorously explored. The effects of surface magnetism, using perpendicularly polarized magnetic media, are evaluated on Bacillus licheniformis, a widely used bacterium in brewery [L. Kandra, a-Amylases of medical and industrial importance. J. Mol. Strict. (Theochem.). in press] and pharmaceutical [H. Ikram-ul et al., Production of alph amylase by Bacillus licheniformis using an economical medium. Bioresour. Technol. 87 (2003) 57-61] industries. by observing its adhesion and growth behavior. At different spin directions. we are able to observe a change on the biofilm formation. protein synthesis, and cell growth rate. Given that surface energy can easily penetrate through cells, this approach is an advantage over existing techniques that require direct physical contact to target cells. It also presents a new technique to cell adhesion and synthesis of surface proteins. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.