Experimental Models and Novel Therapies for Difficult-to-Treat Biofilm-Associated Infections
A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2026) | Viewed by 1281
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bacterial pathogenic mechanism; biofilm; discovery of alternative therapeutics; microbiome and antibiotic resistance; phage engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biofilm-associated infections represent a formidable challenge in modern medicine, contributing significantly to persistent and recurrent diseases across clinical settings—from indwelling medical devices to chronic wounds and oral, bacterial biofilm-related infections. These structured microbial communities, encased in protective extracellular matrices, exhibit recalcitrance to conventional antimicrobial therapies and host immune responses, leading to treatment failures and substantial healthcare burdens. Furthermore, the intrinsic resistance mechanisms of biofilms, including metabolic heterogeneity, efflux pumps, and persister cell populations, necessitate innovative therapeutic strategies beyond traditional antibiotics.
This Special Issue of Antibiotics will focus on two critical fronts in this battle: experimental models and novel therapies. Robust, physiologically relevant models—spanning sophisticated in vitro systems, ex vivo tissue models, and advanced in vivo infections—are essential for accurately mimicking the complex biofilm microenvironment and reliably evaluating new interventions. Concurrently, we urgently need to explore and validate groundbreaking therapeutic avenues. This includes, but is not limited to, anti-biofilm agents targeting matrix disruption or quorum sensing, biofilm-penetrating delivery systems, combination therapies, bacteriophages, antimicrobial peptides, and immunomodulatory approaches.
We invite original research and insightful reviews that advance our understanding of biofilm biology through innovative models and propel the development of effective, targeted therapies to combat these difficult-to-treat infections.
Dr. Peng Gao
Dr. Xuan Li
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- biofilm-associated infections
- antimicrobial resistance
- experimental models (in vitro / in vivo)
- novel anti-biofilm therapies
- antibiotic tolerance
- combination therapy
- antimicrobial peptides
- phage therapy
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