The treatment of infected wounds is one possible therapeutic aspect of plasma medicine. Chronic wounds are often associated with microbial biofilms which limit the efficacy of antiseptics. The present study investigates two different surface barrier discharges with air plasma to compare their efficacy against microbial biofilms with chlorhexidine digluconate solution (CHX) as representative of ...

BACKGROUND The majority of microbial infections in humans are biofilm-associated and difficult to treat, as biofilms are highly resistant to antimicrobial agents and protect themselves from external threats in various ways. Biofilms are tenaciously attached to surfaces and impede the ability of host defense molecules and cells to penetrate them. On the other hand, some biofilms are beneficial f...

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most important causes of morbidity and health care spending affecting persons of all ages. Bacterial biofilms play an important role in UTIs, responsible for persistent infections leading to recurrences and relapses. UTIs associated with microbial biofilms developed on catheters account for a high percentage of all nosocomial infections and are the...

The breakdown of oral health is in almost all cases due to microbial infiltration; even in cases of neuromuscular failure due to faulty occlusion, microorganisms will take advantage of the body’s stress and fatigue. Bacteria rarely travel alone or in free-floating plankton-like forms; instead they aggregate in colonies, in what are called microbial biofilms. These biofilms are nearly impossible...

Microbial electrochemical snorkel (MES) reactor is a simplified bioreactor based on microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and has been suggested to be a promising approach to solve many environmental problems. However, the microbial processes in MES reactors have not yet been characterized. This study shows that Shewanella decolorationis S12 can use the conductive snorkel as direct electron acceptor for ...

Microorganisms have been reported to induce settlement and metamorphosis in a wide range of marine invertebrate species. However, the primary cue reported for metamorphosis of coral larvae is calcareous coralline algae (CCA). Herein we report the community structure of developing coral reef biofilms and the potential role they play in triggering the metamorphosis of a scleractinian coral. Two-w...

Biofouling occurs without exception in all water systems, with undesirable effects such as biocorrosion and deterioration of water quality. Drinking water associated biofilms represent a potential risk to human health by harbouring pathogenic or toxin-releasing microorganisms. This is the first study investigating the attached microbiota, with potential threat to human health, in a public water...

In the natural environment, microbial community structure of river biofilm is controlled by biotic and abiotic factors. This study explored the capacity to manipulate the structure of microbial communities by modifying environmental conditions during the course of biofilm development. River epilithic biofilm was cultivated in situ on artificial substrates placed parallel to river water flow. Su...

Bacterial contaminants from commercial fuel ethanol production facilities were previously shown to form biofilms as mixed cultures under laboratory conditions. In this study, a rapid assay was developed to simultaneously compare isolates for their ability to form biofilms as pure cultures. A total of 10 strains were isolated from a dry-grind fuel ethanol plant that routinely doses with virginia...

Physiologic activity and community structure of planktonic and biofilm microbial communities in an urban river were analyzed using 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) staining, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified 16S rDNA fragments. Respiring bacteria estimated by CTC reducti...