Biofilm-targeting Antibiotics - Benefits and Uses

Biofilm-targeting antibiotics are a type of medication that specifically target and eliminate bacterial biofilms, which are colonies of bacteria that can be resistant to traditional antibiotics.
Category
Drug
Where to get
Available by prescription at pharmacies
Applicable for
Prepared by Shruti Sahoo, reviewed by Dr. Eugene Smith

Biofilm-targeting Antibiotics FAQ


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How effective are antibiotics against biofilms?

They are able to penetrate the biofilm well, are biocompatible and show efficacy against biofilms of a wide range of bacterial species for a diverse number of antibiotics 136, 137.

Is biofilm targeting effective in clinical biofilm infections?

Although passive targeting is applicable to a wide range of clinical biofilm infections, its efficacy is hindered by its lack of specificity. Active targeting and/or stimuli-responsive release strategies may yield more biofilm-specific and strain-specific antimicrobial interactions.

What are microbial biofilm development and antibiofilm strategies?

Biofilm development and antibiofilm strategies. The microbial biofilm cycle could be classified into 4 phases: Initial attachment, Adhesion, Maturation, and Dispersal. The biofilm inhibitory and dispersal strategies are summarized as per the stages in biofilm development.

What are biofilm targets?

Biofilm targets include microbial cells (often polymicrobial communities) and the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix, and therapeutics can be delivered from the overlying surrounding biological fluid as well as the surfaces of the medical devices themselves.

Should antibiotics be used to treat biofilms?

One of the key issues with using antibiotics to treat biofilms is achieving the required minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of drug at the infection site. The MIC for a biofilm can be between 100-800x greater than the MIC for planktonic cells ( Jacqueline and Caillon, 2014 ).

How are biofilms treated?

In general, two different strategies to treat biofilms exist: (1) biofilm inhibition, to prevent biofilm from forming, and (2) biofilm dispersal, to eliminate already formed biofilms ( Figure 1 ).

Biofilm-targeting Antibiotics References

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