Although you may have never heard the word "
biofilms," you've definitely come across them.
Bacterial
biofilms tolerate high concentrations of biocides; this property is partly attributed to the protective matrix in which bacterial cells are embedded.
Formation and properties of in vitro
biofilms of ica-negative Staphylococcus epidermidis clinical isolates.
So, in the context of antibiotic resistance, is there a way to stop the bacterial
biofilms from forming on medical devices without relying on antibiotics?
Biofilms are structured bacterial communities enclosed in a self-produced polymeric matrix that adheres to an inert or living surface (1).
Biofilms are the sessile polymicrobial communities attached to the substratum of biotic and abiotic surfaces and are sheathed within a self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix, that is, polysaccharides intercellular adhesin [2, 5, 6].
In the food industry,
biofilms increase bacterial resistance to environmental stresses including cleaning, disinfection, and inhibition, enabling these microorganisms to persist on surfaces and processing equipment, compared to planktonic cells [1-3].
Biofilms are defined as biotic or abiotic surface-attached microbial consortia and have multiple stages such as initial reversible attachment; production of an extracellular polymeric matrix (EPM) including proteins, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids; irreversible attachment; etc.
Treatment of biofilm-associated persistent infections is an emerging issue for clinicians as bacterial cells adhere with human epithelial cells or indwelling medical devices such as implants and catheters used in urinary tract and respiratory infections.1
Biofilms are complex surface-associated communities where bacterial cells are enclosed by self-produced extra cellular polymeric substances (EPS), which mainly consist of exopolysaccharides, proteins and extracellular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).2-4 Pseudomonas (P.) aeruginosa is an important human pathogen which causes many infections ranging from wound infections to cystic fibrosis.
Scientists showed that robots with catalytic activity could destroy
biofilms, sticky amalgamations of bacteria enmeshed in a protective scaffolding.
coli, as an aggravating factor, the bacteria form
biofilms with ease in stainless steel surface (FROZI et al., 2017), polystyrene (MILLEZI et al., 2016) and polipropilene (MILLEZI et al., 2012).
In addition to measuringbiofilm formation, we also conducted SEM experiments to determine whether the structure of the
biofilms changed in response to CIP treatment.