International Journal of Microbiological Research 2 (3): 208-212, 2011 ISSN 2079-2093 © IDOSI Publications, 2011 Corresponding Author: Satadal Das, Department of Microbiology and Serology, Peerless Hospital and B.K. Roy Research Centre, 360, Panchasayar, Kolkata-700094, India. Tell: +91- 09831092130, 033-2462 2394, Fax: 91(33) 2462 0766, E-mail: drsatdas@hotmail.com. 208 Concurrent Determination of Collagenase and Biofilm Formation Activities in Metallo-Beta-Lactamase Producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa Debasrita Chakraborty, Saikat Basu, Payel Chatterjee, Subrata Kumar Dey and Satadal Das 1 1 2 3 1 Research Fellow, West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata-70006 1 Department of Microbiology and Serology, 2 Peerless Hospital and B.K. Roy Research Centre, Kolkata-700094, India The School of Biotechnology, West Bengal University of Technology, 3 BF-142, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700064, India Abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen causes community acquired infections and also hospital acquired infection. Metallo beta lactamase (MBL) producing P. aeruginosa are very difficult to exterminate, as a result they cause high morbidity and mortality among patients infected by them. Strains of P. aeruginosa exhibiting biofilm forming characteristic have been found to resist different antibiotic therapy and also their ability of collagenase formation showed increased pathogenicity. In this study, the difference of collagenase activity and degree of biofilm forming ability was analyzed using both MBL producing and MBL non-producing strains of P. aeruginosa. The study showed that MBL producers have strong Biofilm forming ability and higher collagenase activity and also we found out a correlation existing between these two virulence factors. Key words: Collagenase Biofilm Metallo-Beta-Lactamase Pseudomonas aeruginosa. INTRODUCTION antibiotics including imipenem and meropenem [4]. It has Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram-negative rod that MBL producing bacteria is high, mainly due to multi organ belongs to the family Pseudomonadaceae which are failure and mostly are male patients with old age group[5]. widespread in nature, inhabiting soil, water, plants and A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which animals, including humans. It is an opportunistic cells of one or more species are attached with each other pathogen, implicating its exploitation on intermission in on a surface to form a self produced matrix of extracellular the host defense mechanisms to instigate infection. It polymeric substances [6]. In the biofilm, cells causes community-acquired infections, for instance otitis communicate via quorum sensing [7] and they may alter externa, ulcer, skin and tissue infections and also causes in shape and size. Biofilm bacteria display particular hospital-acquired infections including urinary tract phenotypes that distinguish them from their freely infection, pneumonia, bacteremia and burn infection [1]. growing counterparts [8]. In the initial steps of biofilm Metallo beta lactamases (MBL) is a group of beta formation different gene expressions are responsible [9], lactamase producing bacteria that requires zinc ion as such as the up regulation of exopolysaccharides cofactor for their activity. Carbapenems are the most synthesis that causes cell adhesion [10]. potent beta lactams because of its strong affinity to One of the important characteristics of P. aeruginosa penicillin binding proteins, stability against most serine is biofilm formation that helps them to survive different beta lactamases and high permeability across the outer antibiotic therapy and antibiotic resistant strains of P. membrane [2, 3]. The misuse and overindulgence of it aeruginosa have been found exhibiting better biofilm causes production of metallo beta lactamase producing forming ability [11]. In chronic infection, P. aeruginosa bacteria, those are resistant to most of beta lactam generally grow in biofilm mode and causes persistent been seen that mortality rate of patients infected with