Current Strategies for Combating Biofilm-Forming Pathogens in Clinical Healthcare-Associated Infections

Abstract

The biofilm formation by various pathogens causes chronic infections and poses severe threats to industry, healthcare, and society. They can form biofilm on surfaces of medical implants, heart valves, pacemakers, contact lenses, vascular grafts, urinary catheters, dialysis catheters, etc. These biofilms play a central role in bacterial persistence and antibiotic tolerance. Biofilm formation occurs in a series of steps, and any interference in these steps can prevent its formation. Therefore, the hunt to explore and develop effective anti-biofilm strategies became necessary to decrease the rate of biofilm-related infections. In this review, we highlighted and discussed the current therapeutic approaches to eradicate biofilm formation and combat drug resistance by anti-biofilm drugs, phytocompounds, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), antimicrobial lipids (AMLs), matrix-degrading enzymes, nanoparticles, phagebiotics, surface coatings, photodynamic therapy (PDT), riboswitches, vaccines, and antibodies. The clinical validation of these findings will provide novel preventive and therapeutic strategies for biofilm-associated infections to the medical world.

Keywords: Antibiotic tolerance; Bacterial persistence; Biofilm formation; Biofilm-mediated infections; Therapeutic approaches.

Fig. 1

Process of biofilm formation

Fig. 2

Novel approaches to combat biofilm formation in various pathogens

Fig. 3

Chemical structures of various antimicrobial lipids that disrupt biofilm formation (a) Glycerol Monolaurate (b) Linoleic acid (c) Petroselinic acid (d) Oleic acid (e) Vaccenic acid (f) Palmitoleic acid