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Antibiotics
Special Issues
Polymicrobial Biofilms and Antimicrobial Resistance Across Human, Animal, and Environmental...
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Polymicrobial Biofilms and Antimicrobial Resistance Across Human, Animal, and Environmental Health

A Special Issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382) belonging to the section "Antibiofilm Strategies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 November 2026 | Viewed by 520

Editor

Prof. Dr. Joana Campos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ICBAS, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: antimicrobial resistance and tolerance; molecular epidemiology; biofilms; antimicrobial alternatives; One Health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health challenge that extends beyond genetic resistance mechanisms to include complex phenotypic and ecological adaptations. In particular, polymicrobial infections and biofilm-associated communities play a critical role in antimicrobial tolerance, persistence, and treatment failure. Within biofilms, interactions between species (e.g., metabolic cooperation, spatial organization, and enzymatic antibiotic degradation) can significantly reduce antimicrobial efficacy.

Across human, veterinary, and environmental settings, polymicrobial biofilms contribute to chronic and recurrent infections and facilitate the persistence and dissemination of resistant pathogens within a One Health framework. However, current surveillance and antimicrobial stewardship strategies frequently overlook community-level resistance mechanisms, especially those associated with biofilm-mediated tolerance to frontline antibiotics, including β-lactams.

This Special Issue aims to provide an integrated overview of antimicrobial resistance in polymicrobial biofilms, encompassing mechanistic insights, clinical and veterinary relevance, and environmental perspectives. We welcome original research articles and reviews addressing microbial interactions, biofilm-associated resistance, advanced analytical approaches, and strategies to improve antimicrobial stewardship and infection control.

Prof. Dr. Joana Campos
Guest Editor

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-anonymized 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

  • antimicrobial resistance
  • polymicrobial biofilms
  • interspecies interactions
  • biofilm-associated infections
  • antibiotic tolerance
  • One Health
  • ESKAPE pathogens
  • antimicrobial stewardship

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 2711 KB  
Article
Antibacterial, Synergistic, and Antibiofilm Activities of Liquidambar orientalis Mill. Essential Oil Against Clinically Relevant Bacterial Pathogens
by Ziya İlhan, Reyda Şıklaroğlu, Murad Gürses, Murat Bayezit, Taha Gürsoy, Yavuz Musabeşeoğlu, Özgür Erkan, Şefika Musabeşeoğlu, Mehmet Karaca and Hasan Altan Akkan
Antibiotics 2026, 15(9), 851; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics15090851 - 31 Aug 2026
Viewed by 234
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance has reduced the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics, highlighting the need for alternative or adjunct antimicrobial agents. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial, synergistic, and antibiofilm activities of Liquidambar orientalis Mill. essential oil against clinically relevant [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance has reduced the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics, highlighting the need for alternative or adjunct antimicrobial agents. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial, synergistic, and antibiofilm activities of Liquidambar orientalis Mill. essential oil against clinically relevant bacterial pathogens, using 24 bacterial strains representing 12 bacterial species. Methods: The volatile constituents of L. orientalis essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of storax balsam were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Antibacterial activity was evaluated using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), disk diffusion, and agar well diffusion assays against a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Synergistic interactions with erythromycin, amoxicillin, gentamicin, and enrofloxacin were assessed using fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) analysis. Antibiofilm activity was also evaluated against representative biofilm-forming strains. Results: A total of 90 volatile constituents were identified by GC-MS, of which styrene was the most abundant (68.6%), followed by (E)-ethyl cinnamate (6.8%), α-pinene (5.9%), and β-pinene (2.9%). The essential oil exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, with an overall inhibition rate of 60.4%. Activity was higher against Gram-positive (77.77%) than Gram-negative (73.33%) bacteria. MIC and MBC values ranged from 15.62 to 250 µg/mL and 31.25 to 250 µg/mL, respectively. FICI analysis revealed strain- and antibiotic-dependent interactions, ranging from synergistic to antagonistic effects. Variable antibiofilm activity was observed, with the strongest inhibition against Brucella melitensis and the weakest against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. No significant differences in MIC or MBC values were observed between bacterial groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: L. orientalis essential oil demonstrated in vitro antibacterial activity against several clinically relevant pathogens, with particularly notable activity against B. melitensis. The essential oil also showed synergistic interactions with selected antibiotics and variable antibiofilm effects. These findings suggest that L. orientalis essential oil may have potential as an antibacterial agent or adjunct to antibiotic therapy; however, further in vivo and clinical studies are required to confirm its therapeutic applicability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymicrobial Biofilms and Antimicrobial Resistance Across Human, Animal, and Environmental Health)
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