A rival import-substituting biosafe nanofertilizer, a nanostructured water-phosphorite suspension with a particle size of 60.0–120.0 nm, has been obtained for the first time from the natural raw...

Gram-positive bacteria cause a wide spectrum of infectious diseases, including nosocomial infections. While in the biofilm, bacteria exhibit increased resistance to antibiotics and the human immune system, causing difficulties in treatment. Thus, the development of biofilm formation inhibitors is a great challenge in pharmacology. The gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is widely used as a model organism for studying biofilm formation. Here, we report on the effect of new synthesized 2(5Н)-furanones on the biofilm formation by B.subtilis cells. Among 57 compounds tested, sulfur-containing derivatives of 2(5H)-furanone (F12, F15, and F94) repressed biofilm formation at a concentration of 10 g/ml. Derivatives F12 and F94 were found to inhibit the biosynthesis of GFP from the promoter of the eps operon encoding genes of the biofilm exopolysaccharide synthesis (EPS). Using the differential fluorescence staining of alive/dead cells, we demonstrated an increased bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics (kanamycin and chloramphenicol) in the presence of F12, F15, and F94, with F12 being the most efficient one. The derivative F15 was capable of disrupting an already formed biofilm and thereby increasing the efficiency of antibiotics.

For fourteen years our team has been working on the research of biodegradation, primarily of phosphorus-containing compounds. The world's first biological detoxification of elemental — white and red — phosphorus was carried out. We obtained mold fungi cultures, which transform a substance of the first hazard class white phosphorus into harmless phosphate. This is the first example of the inclusion of white phosphorus into the biospheric cycle of the phosphorus element. In the future, the results of the research may become the basis for effective methods of preventing and eliminating pollution by toxic phosphorus compounds. Therefore, the research is of interest both for practical application and from the point of view of fundamental science.