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Review
. 2017 Apr 1;5(2):15.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms5020015.

Approaches to Dispersing Medical Biofilms

Derek Fleming  1 , Kendra P Rumbaugh  2
Affiliations
Review

Approaches to Dispersing Medical Biofilms

Derek Fleming et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Biofilm-associated infections pose a complex problem to the medical community, in that residence within the protection of a biofilm affords pathogens greatly increased tolerances to antibiotics and antimicrobials, as well as protection from the host immune response. This results in highly recalcitrant, chronic infections and high rates of morbidity and mortality. Since as much as 80% of human bacterial infections are biofilm-associated, many researchers have begun investigating therapies that specifically target the biofilm architecture, thereby dispersing the microbial cells into their more vulnerable, planktonic mode of life. This review addresses the current state of research into medical biofilm dispersal. We focus on three major classes of dispersal agents: enzymes (including proteases, deoxyribonucleases, and glycoside hydrolases), antibiofilm peptides, and dispersal molecules (including dispersal signals, anti-matrix molecules, and sequestration molecules). Throughout our discussion, we provide detailed lists and summaries of some of the most prominent and extensively researched dispersal agents that have shown promise against the biofilms of clinically relevant pathogens, and we catalog which specific microorganisms they have been shown to be effective against. Lastly, we discuss some of the main hurdles to development of biofilm dispersal agents, and contemplate what needs to be done to overcome them.

Keywords: biofilm; dispersal; dispersal agent.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representations of passive and active biofilm dispersal. In passive dispersal, an external force (sharp debridement, in this example) causes the complete or partial destruction of the biofilm. In active dispersal, the biofilm microbes respond to an antibiofilm stimulus (nutrient starvation/sequestration, dispersal signal release, quorum sensing inhibition, or stringent response interference, in this example) by actively degrading the matrix, thereby releasing planktonic cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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