reuteri cultures (16–18 hrs of GSK1838705A concentration incubation) were washed twice with sodium phosphate buffer (50 mM Na2HPO4 and NaH2PO4). The cells were then suspended in sterile 250 mM glycerol at 2.2 × 109 CFU/mL and incubated anaerobically at 35°C for 2 selleckchem hours. Supernatants were filter-sterilized (0.22 μm pore size) and stored at 4°C before the concentration of reuterin was determined. The quantities of reuterin were determined using a colorimetric assay previously described [46]. Briefly, serial dilutions of reuterin were

made in sterile glycerol (250 mM). Forty μL of each reuterin dilution were combined with 30 μL of tryptophan (10 mM) in HCl (50 mM), and 120 μL of HCl (12 M). Under acidic conditions, tryptophan reacts with the aldehyde of reuterin to form a β-carboline derivative that oxidizes to yield a purple pigment. Plates were incubated for 25 minutes at 37°C in ambient atmosphere, and the OD560 was determined using the Spectramax 340 PC384 (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA). Dilutions of HPLC-quantified reuterin were used as standards. The amount of reuterin produced was normalized to the initial CFU/mL of the cultures. Preparation of cell-free supernatants from L. reuteri biofilms for reuterin quantification For biofilms grown in 12-well

plates, L. reuteri cultures (16–18 hrs of incubation) were diluted 1:100 in 2 mL of MRS broth. Plates were incubated anaerobically for 24 hours at 35°C. Supernatants and planktonic cells were removed by aspiration, and biofilms were washed with Selleck Cyclosporin A 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (37°C, 100 rpm, 10 minutes). The wash buffer was Farnesyltransferase aspirated, and 2 mL of sterile 250 mM glycerol were added. The plates were incubated anaerobically at 35°C for 2 hours. Supernatants were filter-sterilized (0.22 μm pore size) and stored at 4°C before the concentration of reuterin was determined. Reuterin was produced and measured by methods described in the previous section (adapted from [29]). Biofilms were removed from multiwell plates by sonication (5 minutes, 20°C), and serial dilutions were plated to determine cell counts. The

quantities of reuterin were normalized to the initial bacterial counts (bacterial cell numbers at the beginning of each experiment) of biofilms cultured under identical conditions. Statistical analyses All experiments were performed a minimum of three times and analyzed using a single factor ANOVA test. Differences were considered statistically significant if p < 0.05. All error bars in the figures represent standard deviations. Acknowledgements This work was supported by research funding to J.V. from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (DK065075 and AT003482) and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). We also acknowledge the support of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center (Public Health Service Grant DK56338).