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The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies...
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The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Antibiofilm Strategies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 15817

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Efstathios Giaouris

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Greece
Interests: food hygiene and safety; natural antimicrobials; sustainable microbial control; beneficial microorganisms; biofilms; intercellular interactions and communication; bacterial stress adaptation; virulence and pathogenesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Olivier Habimana

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Shantou 515063, China
Interests: biofilms; bioadhesion; microbial ecology; environmental microbiology; food microbiology; food hygiene and safety; foodborne pathogens; microscopy; omics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biofilms are the default microbial growth mode in most environments, including both natural and human-made ones. These protect the enclosed cells from environmental perturbations, including physicochemical stresses and biocide exposure. In addition to their beneficial roles, mainly with respect to their crucial involvement in environmental sustainability issues (e.g., bioremediation, wastewater treatment, bioreactors producing beneficial compounds), biofilms are mostly known for the important problems these provoke in many areas, including persistent human infections, biofouling of medical devices (e.g., catheters, prosthetic heart valves), food contamination, surface corrosion, crop losses, problems in marine traffic, productivity losses, and considerable increases in energy consumption. The increased recalcitrance of biofilms to current antimicrobials has led to the search for novel, cost-efficient, and preferable eco-friendly antimicrobial strategies to combat them. These should be able to destroy the biofilm cells with the lowest possibilities for subsequent resistance development. This Special Issue seeks manuscripts dealing with novel antibiofilm strategies, especially those trying to unravel their modes of action at the sessile community and cellular levels. Both original research and review articles are welcome.

Dr. Efstathios Giaouris
Dr. Olivier Habimana
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • novel antibiofilm strategies
  • antimicrobial resistance and tolerance
  • natural and nature-inspired antimicrobials
  • quorum sensing inhibitors
  • next generation antimicrobials
  • biofilm inhibition and eradication
  • antibiofilm phytochemicals and plant extracts
  • antibiofilm nanoparticles
  • nanocoatings and surface modifications
  • antibiofilm bioprotective cultures (e.g., lactic acid bacteria, bacilli)
  • antibiofilm enzymes and bacteriophages
  • antibiofilm photodynamic treatment
  • antifouling agents and coatings
  • synergistic antibiofilm approaches
  • mechanisms of antibiofilm action
  • clinical antibiofilm trials

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review, Other

7 pages, 215 KiB  
Editorial
The Battle Against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action
by Efstathios Giaouris and Olivier Habimana
Antibiotics 2025, 14(2), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14020111 - 21 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 946
Abstract
Biofilms represent the predominant mode of microbial growth across a variety of environments, encompassing both natural and anthropogenic settings [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action)

Research

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19 pages, 2219 KiB  
Article
Comparative Assessment of the Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Actions of Benzalkonium Chloride, Erythromycin, and L(+)-Lactic Acid against Raw Chicken Meat Campylobacter spp. Isolates
by Dimitra Kostoglou, Athina Vass and Efstathios Giaouris
Antibiotics 2024, 13(3), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13030201 - 21 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2041
Abstract
Campylobacter spp. are significant zoonotic agents, which cause annually millions of human cases of foodborne gastroenteritis worldwide. Their inclusion in biofilms on abiotic surfaces seems to play a pivotal role in their survival outside of the host, growth, and spread. To successfully mitigate [...] Read more.
Campylobacter spp. are significant zoonotic agents, which cause annually millions of human cases of foodborne gastroenteritis worldwide. Their inclusion in biofilms on abiotic surfaces seems to play a pivotal role in their survival outside of the host, growth, and spread. To successfully mitigate the risks that arise with these bacteria, it is crucial to decrease their prevalence within the food production chain (from farm to the table), alongside the successful treatment of the resulting illness, known as campylobacteriosis. For this, the use of various antimicrobial agents remains actively in the foreground. A general-purpose biocide and cationic surfactant (benzalkonium chloride; BAC), a widely used macrolide antibiotic (erythromycin; ERY), and a naturally occurring organic acid (L(+)-lactic acid; LA) were comparatively evaluated in this work for their potential to inhibit both the planktonic and biofilm growth of 12 selected Campylobacter spp. (of which, seven were C. jejuni and five were C. coli) raw chicken meat isolates, all grown in vitro as monocultures. The inhibitory action of LA was also studied against four mixed-culture Campylobacter biofilms (each composed of three different isolates). The results showed that the individual effectiveness of the agents varied significantly depending on the isolate, growth mode (planktonic, biofilm), intercellular interactions (monocultures, mixed cultures), and the growth medium used (with special focus on blood presence). Thus, BAC exhibited minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs), and minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBICs) that ranged from 0.5 to 16 μg/mL. Interestingly enough, these values varied widely from 0.25 to 1024 μg/mL for ERY. Concerning LA, the MICs, MBCs, and MBICs varied from 1024 to 4096 μg/mL, with mixed-culture biofilm formation always being more difficult to suppress when compared to biofilm monocultures. In addition, it was evident that intercellular interactions encountered within mixed-culture Campylobacter biofilms significantly influenced both the population dynamics and the tolerance of each consortium member to acid exposure. Overall, the findings of this study provide useful information on the comparative effectiveness of three well-known antimicrobial agents for the control of Campylobacter spp. under various growth modes (i.e., planktonic, biofilm, monocultures, mixed cultures) that could potentially be encountered in food production and clinical settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action)
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17 pages, 5482 KiB  
Article
Inhibition of Mixed Biofilms of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus by β-Caryophyllene-Gold Nanoparticles
by Fazlurrahman Khan, Nazia Tabassum, Geum-Jae Jeong, Won-Kyo Jung and Young-Mog Kim
Antibiotics 2023, 12(4), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12040726 - 7 Apr 2023
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3173
Abstract
Polymicrobial biofilms, consisting of fungal and bacterial pathogens, often contribute to the failure of antimicrobial treatment. The growing resistance of pathogenic polymicrobial biofilms to antibiotics has led to the development of alternative strategies to combat polymicrobial diseases. To this end, nanoparticles synthesized using [...] Read more.
Polymicrobial biofilms, consisting of fungal and bacterial pathogens, often contribute to the failure of antimicrobial treatment. The growing resistance of pathogenic polymicrobial biofilms to antibiotics has led to the development of alternative strategies to combat polymicrobial diseases. To this end, nanoparticles synthesized using natural molecules have received significant attention for disease treatment. Here, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized using β-caryophyllene, a bioactive compound isolated from various plant species. The shape, size, and zeta potential of the synthesized β-c-AuNPs were found to be non-spherical, 17.6 ± 1.2 nm, and -31.76 ± 0.73 mV, respectively. A mixed biofilm of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus was used to test the efficacy of the synthesized β-c-AuNPs. The results revealed a concentration-dependent inhibition of the initial stages of formation of single-species as well as mixed biofilms. Furthermore, β-c-AuNPs also eliminated mature biofilms. Therefore, using β-c-AuNPs to inhibit biofilm and eradicate bacterial-fungal mixed biofilms represents a promising therapeutic approach for controlling polymicrobial infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action)
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13 pages, 2387 KiB  
Article
Raspberry Ketone-Mediated Inhibition of Biofilm Formation in Salmonella enterica Typhimurium—An Assessment of the Mechanisms of Action
by Arakkaveettil Kabeer Farha, Zhongquan Sui and Harold Corke
Antibiotics 2023, 12(2), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12020239 - 23 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2585
Abstract
Salmonella enterica is an important foodborne pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and systemic infection in humans and livestock. Salmonella biofilms consist of two major components—amyloid curli and cellulose—which contribute to the prolonged persistence of Salmonella inside the host. Effective agents for inhibiting the formation of [...] Read more.
Salmonella enterica is an important foodborne pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and systemic infection in humans and livestock. Salmonella biofilms consist of two major components—amyloid curli and cellulose—which contribute to the prolonged persistence of Salmonella inside the host. Effective agents for inhibiting the formation of biofilms are urgently needed. We investigated the antibiofilm effect of Raspberry Ketone (RK) and its mechanism of action against Salmonella Typhimurium 14028 using the Congo red agar method, Calcofluor staining, crystal violet method, pellicle assay, and the TMT-labeled quantitative proteomic approach. RK suppressed the formation of different types of Salmonella biofilms, including pellicle formation, even at low concentrations (200 µg/mL). Furthermore, at higher concentrations (2 mg/mL), RK exhibited bacteriostatic effects. RK repressed cellulose deposition in Salmonella biofilm through an unknown mechanism. Swimming and swarming motility analyses demonstrated reduced motility in RK-treated S. typhimurium. Proteomics analysis revealed that pathways involved in amyloid curli production, bacterial invasion, flagellar motility, arginine biosynthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism, were targeted by RK to facilitate biofilm inhibition. Consistent with the proteomics data, the expressions of csgB and csgD genes were strongly down-regulated in RK-treated S. typhimurium. These findings clearly demonstrated the Salmonella biofilm inhibition capability of RK, justifying its further study for its efficacy assessment in clinical and industrial settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action)
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Review

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24 pages, 10717 KiB  
Review
Eugenol-Based Polymeric Materials—Antibacterial Activity and Applications
by Anna Kowalewska and Kamila Majewska-Smolarek
Antibiotics 2023, 12(11), 1570; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12111570 - 27 Oct 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3999
Abstract
Eugenol (4-Allyl-2-methoxy phenol) (EUG) is a plant-derived allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, widely known for its antimicrobial and anesthetic properties, as well as the ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species. It is typically used as a mixture with zinc oxide (ZOE) for the preparation of [...] Read more.
Eugenol (4-Allyl-2-methoxy phenol) (EUG) is a plant-derived allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, widely known for its antimicrobial and anesthetic properties, as well as the ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species. It is typically used as a mixture with zinc oxide (ZOE) for the preparation of restorative tooth fillings and treatment of root canal infections. However, the high volatility of this insoluble-in-water component of natural essential oils can be an obstacle to its wider application. Moreover, molecular eugenol can be allergenic and even toxic if taken orally in high doses for long periods of time. Therefore, a growing interest in eugenol loading in polymeric materials (including the encapsulation of molecular eugenol and polymerization of EUG-derived monomers) has been noted recently. Such active macromolecular systems enhance the stability of eugenol action and potentially provide prolonged contact with pathogens without the undesired side effects of free EUG. In this review, we present an overview of methods leading to the formation of macromolecular derivatives of eugenol as well as the latest developments and further perspectives in their pharmacological and antimicrobial applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action)
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Other

8 pages, 1980 KiB  
Brief Report
Synergistic Potentiation of Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activities of Penicillin and Bacitracin by Octyl Gallate, a Food-Grade Antioxidant, in Staphylococcus epidermidis
by Pitchaya Santativongchai, Phitsanu Tulayakul, Yinduo Ji and Byeonghwa Jeon
Antibiotics 2022, 11(12), 1775; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11121775 - 8 Dec 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1922
Abstract
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major nosocomial pathogen that frequently forms biofilms on indwelling medical devices. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of octyl gallate (OG) in combination with penicillin and bacitracin against S. epidermidis. Antimicrobial synergy was [...] Read more.
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major nosocomial pathogen that frequently forms biofilms on indwelling medical devices. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of octyl gallate (OG) in combination with penicillin and bacitracin against S. epidermidis. Antimicrobial synergy was assessed by conducting checkerboard titration assays, and antibiofilm activity was determined with biofilm assays and fluorescence microscopy analysis. The presence of 8 µg/mL of OG increased both the bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of penicillin and bacitracin against S. epidermidis. It lowered the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of penicillin by eight-fold and those of bacitracin by four-fold. Moreover, when used with penicillin or bacitracin, OG significantly decreased the level of biofilm production by preventing microcolony formation. Furthermore, OG significantly permeabilized the bacterial cell wall, which may explain its antimicrobial synergy with penicillin and bacitracin. Together, these results demonstrate that OG, a food-grade antioxidant, can be potentially used as a drug potentiator to enhance the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of penicillin and bacitracin against S. epidermidis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Battle against Biofilms: A Focus on Novel Antimicrobial Strategies and Their Mechanisms of Action)
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