Strategies for the Eradication of Biofilm-Based Bacterial Infections

Abstract

Biofilm-based bacterial infections are a significant health threat due to their chronic nature and lack of susceptibility to both the host immune response and to treatment with conventional antibiotics. There are numerous complex and interrelated mechanisms underling this tolerance, and strategies to overcome them are required in order to combat the considerable threat posed by biofilm-based bacterial infections. Several such strategies that have been explored toward the eradication of biofilm-based bacterial infections are discussed in this chapter. One strategy involves developing new antibiotics that are active against biofilm cells, while other approaches center on enhancing the activity of conventional antibiotics against biofilm cells with compounds that interfere with quorum sensing and other bacterial signaling and communication pathways, target biofilm-specific genes, or target the biofilm matrix.