A normalized parameter for comparison of biofilm dispersants in vitro
Shuang Tian,
Linqi Shi,
Yijin Ren,
Henny C. van der Mei,
Henk J. Busscher
Affiliations
Shuang Tian
University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, the Netherlands; State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Key Laboratory of Functional polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, PR China
Linqi Shi
State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Key Laboratory of Functional polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, PR China; Corresponding author
Yijin Ren
University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Orthodontics, Hanzeplein 1, 9700, RB, Groningen, the Netherlands
Henny C. van der Mei
University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, the Netherlands; Corresponding authors. Biomedical Engineering, University Medical center Groningen Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen the Netherlands.
Henk J. Busscher
University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, the Netherlands; Corresponding author
Dispersal of infectious biofilms increases bacterial concentrations in blood. To prevent sepsis, the strength of a dispersant should be limited to allow the immune system to remove dispersed bacteria from blood, preferably without antibiotic administration. Biofilm bacteria are held together by extracellular polymeric substances that can be degraded by dispersants. Currently, comparison of the strength of dispersants is not possible by lack of a suitable comparison parameter. Here, a biofilm dispersal parameter is proposed that accounts for differences in initial biofilm properties, dispersant concentration and exposure time by using PBS as a control and normalizing outcomes with respect to concentration and time. The parameter yielded near-identical values based on dispersant-induced reductions in biomass or biofilm colony-forming-units and appeared strain-dependent across pathogens. The parameter as proposed is largely independent of experimental methods and conditions and suitable for comparing different dispersants with respect to different causative strains in particular types of infection.
