Biofilms play an important role in many chronic bacterial infections. Production of an extracellular mixture of sugar polymers called exopolysaccharide is characteristic and critical for biofilm formation. However, there is limited information about the mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis and modification of exopolysaccharide components and how these processes influence bacterial pathogenes...

Bacterial biofilms create a number of serious problems for industrial fluid processing operations. Mechanical blockages, impedance of heat transfer processes, and biodeterioration of the components of metallic and polymeric systems result in billions of dollars in losses each year. Product spoilage and possible risks to public health are also consequences of biofilm-mediated contamination. Fund...

In real-life situations, bacteria are often transmitted from biofilms growing on donor surfaces to receiver ones. Bacterial transmission is more complex than adhesion, involving bacterial detachment from donor and subsequent adhesion to receiver surfaces. Here, we describe a new device to study shear-induced bacterial transmission from a (stainless steel) pipe to a (silicone rubber) tube and co...

BACKGROUND A few reports confirm the ability of Helicobacter pylori to form biofilm. However, conclusive data do not exist concerning the factors that favor this ability. OBJECTIVES Evaluation of the factors associated with the biofilm formation ability of H. pylori including bacterial, physical and chemical, and environmental factors was the research's aim. MATERIALS AND METHODS H. pylori ...

The predominant mode of growth of bacteria in the environment is within sessile, matrix-enclosed communities known as biofilms. Biofilms often complicate chronic and difficult-to-treat infections by protecting bacteria from the immune system, decreasing antibiotic efficacy, and dispersing planktonic cells to distant body sites. While the biology of bacterial biofilms has become a major focus of...

Bacterial biofilms are multicellular structures akin to citadels which have individual bacterial cells embedded within a matrix of a self-synthesized polymeric or proteinaceous material. Since biofilms can establish themselves on both biotic and abiotic surfaces and that bacteria residing in these complex molecular structures are much more resistant to antimicrobial agents than their planktonic...

Biofilm formation by human bacterial pathogens on implanted medical devices causes major morbidity and mortality among patients, and leads to billions of dollars in healthcare cost. Biofilm is a complex bacterial community that is highly resistant to antibiotics and human immunity. As a result, novel therapeutic solutions other than the conventional antibiotic therapies are in urgent need. In t...

Periodontitis is a common inflammatory disease affecting the tooth-supporting structures. It is initiated by bacteria growing as a biofilm at the gingival margin, and communication of the biofilms differs in health and disease. The bacterial composition of periodontitis-associated biofilms has been well documented and is under continual investigation. However, the roles of several host response...

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a versatile and opportunistic human pathogen whose virulence derives from several factors as extracellular proteases, pyocyanin and pyoverdin and biofilm formation, among others. Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid widely used as anti-inflammatory. Despite its immunosuppressive role, the interplay between dexamethasone and bacterial virulence remains uncovere...