Zeolite 4A as a jammer of bacterial communication in <i>Chromobacterium violaceum</i> and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>.

<b>Aim:</b> To investigate the hypothesis that zeolites interfere with quorum-sensing (QS) systems of <i>Chromobacterium violaceum</i> and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> by adsorbing <i>N</i>-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecules. <b>Methods:</b> QS inhibition by zeolite 4A was investigated using an AHL-based bioreporter assay. The adsorption of the AHLs was evaluated by performing inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy and confirmed by Monte Carlo and molecular dynamic simulations. <b>Results:</b> Zeolite 4A reduced the violacein production in <i>C. violaceum</i> by over 90% and the biofilm formation, elastase and pyocyanin production in <i>P. aeruginosa</i> by 87, 68 and 98%, respectively. <b>Conclusion:</b> Zeolite 4A disrupts the QS systems of <i>C. violaceum</i> and <i>P. aeruginosa</i> by means of adsorbing 3-oxo-C6-AHL and 3-oxo-C12-AHL signaling molecules and can be developed as a novel QS jammer to combat <i>P. aeruginosa</i>-related infections.