Bacterial biofilm formation on implantable devices and approaches to its treatment and prevention
Zohra Khatoon,
Christopher D. McTiernan,
Erik J. Suuronen,
Thien-Fah Mah,
Emilio I. Alarcon
Affiliations
Zohra Khatoon
Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4W7, Canada
Christopher D. McTiernan
Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4W7, Canada
Erik J. Suuronen
Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4W7, Canada
Thien-Fah Mah
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Emilio I. Alarcon
Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4W7, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Corresponding author.
In living organisms, biofilms are defined as complex communities of bacteria residing within an exopolysaccharide matrix that adheres to a surface. In the clinic, they are typically the cause of chronic, nosocomial, and medical device-related infections. Due to the antibiotic-resistant nature of biofilms, the use of antibiotics alone is ineffective for treating biofilm-related infections. In this review, we present a brief overview of concepts of bacterial biofilm formation, and current state-of-the-art therapeutic approaches for preventing and treating biofilms. Also, we have reviewed the prevalence of such infections on medical devices and discussed the future challenges that need to be overcome in order to successfully treat biofilms using the novel technologies being developed.
