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. 2023 Sep 20;11(9):2352.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11092352.

Response Surface Methodology Application for Bacteriophage-Antibiotic Antibiofilm Activity Optimization

Bartłomiej Grygorcewicz  1   2 , Marta Gliźniewicz  1 , Patrycja Olszewska  1 , Dominika Miłek  1 , Artur Czajkowski  1 , Natalia Serwin  1 , Elżbieta Cecerska-Heryć  1 , Rafał Rakoczy  2
Affiliations

Response Surface Methodology Application for Bacteriophage-Antibiotic Antibiofilm Activity Optimization

Bartłomiej Grygorcewicz et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Phage-antibiotic combination-based protocols are presently under heightened investigation. This paradigm extends to engagements with bacterial biofilms, necessitating novel computational approaches to comprehensively characterize and optimize the outcomes achievable via these combinations. This study aimed to explore the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in optimizing the antibiofilm activity of bacteriophage-antibiotic combinations. We employ a combination of antibiotics (gentamicin, meropenem, amikacin, ceftazidime, fosfomycin, imipenem, and colistin) alongside the bacteriophage vB_AbaP_AGC01 to combat Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm. Based on the conducted biofilm challenge assays analyzed using the RSM, the optimal points of antibiofilm activity efficacy were effectively selected by applying this methodology, enabling the quantifiable mathematical representations. Subsequent optimization showed the synergistic potential of the anti-biofilm that arises when antibiotics are judiciously combined with the AGC01 bacteriophage, reducing biofilm biomass by up to 80% depending on the antibiotic used. The data suggest that the phage-imipenem combination demonstrates the highest efficacy, with an 88.74% reduction. Notably, the lower concentrations characterized by a high maximum reduction in biofilm biomass were observed in the phage-amikacin combination at cA = 0.00195 and cP = 0.38 as the option that required minimum resources. It is worth noting that only gentamicin antagonism between the phage and the antibiotic was detected.

Keywords: antimicrobials; biofilm; mathematical modeling; phages.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Surface response graphs of % reduction of biofilm biomass (A) and Pareto chart (B) of the synergistic effect of meropenem antibiotic and phage.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Surface response graphs of % reduction of biofilm biomass (A) and Pareto chart (B) of the synergistic effect of amikacin and phage.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Surface response graphs of % reduction of biofilm biomass (A) and Pareto chart (B) of the synergistic effect of fosfomycin and phage.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Surface response graphs of % reduction of biofilm biomass (A) and Pareto chart (B) of the synergistic effect of ceftazidime and phage.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Surface response graphs of % reduction of biofilm biomass (A) and Pareto chart (B) of the synergistic effect of imipenem and phage.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Surface response graphs of % reduction of biofilm biomass (A) and Pareto chart (B) of the synergistic effect of gentamicin and phage.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Surface response graphs of % reduction of biofilm biomass (A) and Pareto chart (B) of the synergistic effect of colistin and phage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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