A Simple Static Biofilm Assay for Acinetobacter baumannii

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii and other Acinetobacter spp. display biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces. The degree of biofilm formation varies considerably depending on the isolates. While culturing, bacteria tend to attach to abiotic surfaces, and some surfaces perform better than others. Numerous methods are available to study in vitro biofilm formation by bacteria under static growth, and they basically rely upon culturing the bacteria in an ampule followed by staining the bacterial growth attached to the abiotic surface with a suitable dye such as crystal violet to visualize the biofilm. Subsequently, the dye is eluted with a suitable solvent, and optical density is measured to quantify the attached bacterial mass. In this chapter, we provide a basic and simple yet a powerful method to study biofilm formation by A. baumannii grown under static conditions.

Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; Air-liquid interface; Biofilm formation; Static biofilm.