Novel and Improved Strategies for the Detection, Diagnosis and Treatment of Biofilm-Associated Infections

Dear Colleagues,

Several microorganisms are difficult to eradicate due to their ability to produce biofilm on several kinds of surfaces, protecting themselves from a wide range of antimicrobials. Since these complex communities have an impact on every aspect of our lives and can have a profound negative effect on human health by producing several infections, the study of biofilms requires special attention. To complicate this situation, the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens is one of the greatest challenges nowadays, representing a serious problem for public health worldwide. Currently, microbiology culturing and molecular techniques are the standard methods for identifying pathogens in clinical settings, however, they cannot distinguish biofilm in clinical samples. In fact, the diagnosis of clinically relevant biofilm infections is often difficult and inconsistent, as well as there are controversies and uncertainties concerning treatment or prophylactic approaches using antibiotics in clinical settings. Furthermore, conventional antibiotic therapies used to treat acute infections may not eliminate chronic biofilm infections and, in many cases, promote resistance and further biofilm formation. Therefore, the successful treatment of biofilm-associated infections requires novel and more effective anti-biofilm strategies. More targeted therapeutics for biofilm are also required for selecting the appropriate and specific treatment to achieve clinical efficacy. Aware of these facts, the main subject of this Special Issue includes any novel and new diagnostic tool to identify biofilms in infections and improved anti-biofilm strategies and therapies that could be used to control and treat relevant biofilm-based infections.

Dr. Celia Mayer
Dr. Saskia Camille Flament Simon
Guest Editors

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