6. Conclusion

The growing interest in biofilms over the past decade stems from a growing awareness of :

• their omnipresence and the fact that they concern more than 90% of the micro-organisms present on our planet;

• the ineffectiveness of conventional methods for killing these bacteria. The massive doses of antimicrobial agents required to eradicate these biofilms are incompatible with environmental requirements, medical reality (eradicating the biofilm would result in patient death) and, often, with current or future legislation. As a result, there is an urgent need for new antibacterial control strategies, based on a better understanding of adhesion mechanisms. Numerous innovative approaches have been proposed for this purpose, but it is not yet possible to compare them. Some, in particular those combining natural molecules...