Bacterial Density and Biofilm Structure Determined by Optical Coherence Tomography.

Optical-coherence-tomography (OCT) is a non-destructive tool for biofilm imaging, not requiring staining, and used to measure biofilm thickness and putative comparison of biofilm structure based on signal intensity distributions in OCT-images. Quantitative comparison of biofilm signal intensities in OCT-images, is difficult due to the auto-scaling applied in OCT-instruments to ensure optimal quality of individual images. Here, we developed a method to eliminate the influence of auto-scaling in order to allow quantitative comparison of biofilm densities in different images.

Characterization of the , and Efficacy of the Antimicrobial Peptide DPK-060 Used for Topical Treatment.

Antimicrobial peptides, also known as host defense peptides, have recently emerged as a promising new category of therapeutic agents for the treatment of infectious diseases. This study evaluated the preclinical , and antimicrobial activity, as well as the potential to cause skin irritation, of human kininogen-derived antimicrobial peptide DPK-060 in different formulations designed for topical delivery. We found that DPK-060 formulated in acetate buffer or poloxamer gel caused a marked reduction of bacterial counts of (minimum microbicidal concentration <5 μg/ml).

Penetration and Accumulation of Dendrons with Different Peripheral Composition in Biofilms.

Multidrug resistant bacterial infections threaten to become the number one cause of death by the year 2050. Development of antimicrobial dendritic polymers is considered promising as an alternative infection control strategy. For antimicrobial dendritic polymers to effectively kill bacteria residing in infectious biofilms, they have to penetrate and accumulate deep into biofilms.

Role of Viscoelasticity in Bacterial Killing by Antimicrobials in Differently Grown Biofilms.

colonizes the sputum of most adult cystic fibrosis patients, forming difficult-to-eradicate biofilms in which bacteria are protected in their self-produced extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrices. EPS provide biofilms with viscoelastic properties, causing time-dependent relaxation after stress-induced deformation, according to multiple characteristic time constants. These time constants reflect different biofilm (matrix) components.

Antimicrobial synergy of monolaurin lipid nanocapsules with adsorbed antimicrobial peptides against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms in vitro is absent in vivo.

Bacterial infections are mostly due to bacteria in their biofilm-mode of growth, while penetrability of antimicrobials into infectious biofilms and increasing antibiotic resistance hamper infection treatment. In-vitro, monolaurin lipid nanocapsules (ML-LNCs) carrying adsorbed antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) displayed synergistic efficacy against planktonic Staphylococcus aureus, but it has not been demonstrated, neither in-vitro nor in-vivo, that such ML-LNCs penetrate into infectious S. aureus biofilms and maintain synergy with AMPs.