Rapid Method for the Determination of Total Monosaccharide in <i>Enterobacter cloacae</i> Strains Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to quantify total monosaccharide content in the bacterium Enterobacter cloacae and several of its biofilm mutants. Bacterial biofilm samples were grown on trypticase soy agar, and 30 µL aliquots of aqueous sample bacterial plus biofilm were deposited into the center of barium fluoride crystals and dried at 50°C for 1-hour before being scanned by FTIR. The total amounts of monosaccharides were estimated using the absorbance of the mono-saccharide peak, 1192 - 958 cm–1, and normalized using the amide II peak, 1585 - 1483 cm–1. This method provided a linear correlation between the absorbance of the monosaccharide peak and concentration of monosaccharide in standard monosaccharides, fructose, glucose, mannose, and rhamnose, over a concentration range of 0.5 - 2.0 mg/mL.