Enterococcus faecalis biofilm traits and distribution characteristics in China have not been clarified. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of E. faecalis biofilm formation in a sample of clinical isolates and to explore the virulence factors associated with biofilm formation in those isolates. A total of 265 E. faecalis isolates were collected from patients in Shen...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are ubiquitous pathogens often found together in polymicrobial, biofilm-associated infections. This study is the first to use laser ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LAESI-MS) to rapidly study bacteria within a mixed biofilm. Fast, direct, non-invasive LAESI-MS analysis of biofilm could significantly accelerate biofilm studies a...

Structural and microbial heterogeneity occurs in almost any type of biofilm system. General approaches for the design of biofilm systems consider biofilms as homogeneous and of constant thickness. In order to improve the design of biofilms systems, models need to incorporate structural heterogeneity and the effect of inert microbial mass. We have improved a 2D biofilm model based on cellular au...

AIMS The understanding of the dynamics of surface microbial colonization with concomitant monitoring of biofilm formation requires the development of biofilm reactors that enable direct and real-time evaluation under different hydrodynamic conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS This work proposes and discusses a simple flow cell reactor that provides a means to monitoring biofilm growth by periodica...

A favorable microenvironment for biofilm growth on GAC particles was shown using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a marker for a phenol degrading bacterium, Pseudomonas putida F1. The dispersion of P. putida F1 in a biofilm covering granulated activated carbon (GAC) particles was monitored and compared to a biofilm on non-activated granular carbon particles. Laser scanning confocal microscopy...

Differential gene expression in biofilm cells suggests that adding the derepressed conjugative plasmid R1drd19 increases biofilm formation by affecting genes related to envelope stress (rseA and cpxAR), biofilm formation (bssR and cstA), energy production (glpDFK), acid resistance (gadABCEX and hdeABD), and cell motility (csgBEFG, yehCD, yadC, and yfcV); genes encoding outer membrane proteins (...

Biofilms, the preferred bacterial mode of living and survival, are employed by most microorganisms—which tend to attach to surfaces—to gain physical support, increase nutrient utilization and availability, and augment their resistance against anti-bacterial agents. Rhodococcus ruber (C208) has been shown to form a dense biofilm on polyethylene surfaces while degrading them. Bacterial biofilms c...

Nutrient concentration profiles are affected by the mass transport outside the biofilm, inside the biofilm, and by the structure of the biofilm. To understand the distribution of biofilm activity, it is necessary to correlate the local nutrient concentration, local mass transport in the biofilm and the biofilm structure. The correlations among surface averaged dissolved oxygen concentration, su...

We evaluate a method for biofilm disinfection by raising biofilm temperature using the photothermal effect of a gold nanorod cluster. Gold nanorods (GNRs) are capable of generating enough heat to lyse bacteria by heating biofilm via laser irradiation. To test this, GNRs are synthesized using wet chemistry and a single GNR cluster is fabricated using photo-lithography technique. The GNR cluster ...

The global transcriptional regulator Hha of Escherichia coli controls biofilm formation and virulence. Previously, we showed that Hha decreases initial biofilm formation; here, we engineered Hha for two goals: to increase biofilm dispersal and to reduce biofilm formation. Using random mutagenesis, Hha variant Hha13D6 (D22V, L40R, V42I and D48A) was obtained that causes nearly complete biofilm d...