Bacterial Biofilms

The fight against biofilms is probably one of the major challenges facing infectiology in the 21st century. Although bacterial biofilms have been, and still are, the most extensively studied, we now know that virtually all micro-organisms are capable of forming such consortia. The stakes associated with these biofilms are indeed considerable. Although sometimes useful (known as "positive biofilms"), these microbial structures are unfortunately often highly deleterious. Research into positive biofilms is relatively scarce and little exploited, with the exception of applications in wastewater treatment and fermentation processes. Negative biofilms, on the other hand, are implicated in more than half of all nosocomial infections, and cause major losses in quality and productivity in industry. In cosmetics, they are a potential source of contamination for formulations. The processes involved in biofilm formation have been extensively studied. They depend both on the surface properties of the supports and bacteria, and on microbial physiology. Given the ineffectiveness of conventional methods for eliminating these microbial consortia, due to their extraordinary resistance to conventional antimicrobial agents, new strategies for preventing their formation have emerged in recent years, against a backdrop of the implementation of new European directives. Alternative, more environmentally-friendly control methods, such as the development of antibiofilm surfaces based on antimicrobial peptides or polysaccharides, have been proposed. Biofilms are a source of great concern in a number of industrial sectors, and the development of new control methods is opening up new opportunities for certain industries.

The aim of this article is to review our knowledge of the phyisiology of bacteria organized in biofilms, and to describe the strategies currently being developed or explored to combat these microbial consortia, particularly in the medical and industrial fields.

Acronyms and their development are listed at the end of the article.