Bacterial Biofilm Eradication Agents: A Current Review

Abstract

Most free-living bacteria can attach to surfaces and aggregate to grow into multicellular communities encased in extracellular polymeric substances called biofilms. Biofilms are recalcitrant to antibiotic therapy and a major cause of persistent and recurrent infections by clinically important pathogens worldwide (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus). Currently, most biofilm remediation strategies involve the development of biofilm-inhibition agents, aimed at preventing the early stages of biofilm formation, or biofilm-dispersal agents, aimed at disrupting the biofilm cell community. While both strategies offer some clinical promise, neither represents a direct treatment and eradication strategy for established biofilms. Consequently, the discovery and development of biofilm eradication agents as comprehensive, stand-alone biofilm treatment options has become a fundamental area of research. Here we review our current understanding of biofilm antibiotic tolerance mechanisms and provide an overview of biofilm remediation strategies, focusing primarily on the most promising biofilm eradication agents and approaches. Many of these offer exciting prospects for the future of biofilm therapeutics for a large number of infections that are currently refractory to conventional antibiotics.

Antibacterial Natural Halimanes: Potential Source of Novel Antibiofilm Agents

“…As biofilms can act as reservoirs of infectious agents, it is necessary to develop more protocols for disinfection, not only in clinical settings but also in animal farms and in food processing [2,5].…”

Cytotoxic Action of Artemisinin and Scopoletin on Planktonic Forms and on Biofilms of Candida Species

“…This may be due to the abilities of the sesquiterpenoids to have action on amyloid proteins, which are one of the major building blocks of microbial biofilms [31][32][33][34]. On the other hand, Sc treatment showed a dramatic decrement in the total biomass including cell loss from the polystyrene surface in case of C. albicans, C. dubliniensis, and C. glabrata, which might be due to the action of coumarin derivatives on the chemical pathways such as quorum sensing resulting in biofilm dispersion [35][36][37][38][39][40]. However, the higher metabolic activities and the less cell death rate found in the case of C. gulliermondii indicates the presence of other drug resistance mechanism factors apart from poor drug penetration into Candida biofilms.…”

Aporphinoid alkaloids inhibit biofilm formation of Yersinia enterocolitica isolated from sausages

“…Biofilm formation is a significant virulence mechanism in the pathogenesis of many medically important bacterial pathogens and a key protection for bacterial species against different agents including acid, alkali, oxidant and even antimicrobials (Verderosa et al 2019). Thus, new strategies for the prevention, dispersal and treatment of bacterial biofilms are urgently required.…”