Use of Calgary and microfluidic BioFlux systems to test the activity of fosfomycin and tobramycin alone and in combination against cystic fibrosis Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in chronically infected cystic fibrosis patients. Novel in vitro biofilm models which reliably predict the therapeutic success of antimicrobial therapies against biofilm bacteria should be implemented. The activity of fosfomycin, tobramycin, and the fosfomycin-tobramycin combination against 6 susceptible P. aeruginosa strains isolated from respiratory samples from cystic fibrosis patients was tested by using two in vitro biofilm models: a closed system (Calgary device) and an open model based on microfluidics (BioFlux). All but one of the isolates formed biofilms. The fosfomycin and tobramycin minimal biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBIC) were 1,024 to >1,024 μg/ml and 8 to 32 μg/ml, respectively. According to fractional inhibitory concentration analysis, the combination behaved synergistically against all the isolates except the P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 strain. The dynamic formation of the biofilm was also studied with the BioFlux system, and the MIC and MBIC of each antibiotic were tested. For the combination, the lowest tobramycin concentration that was synergistic with fosfomycin was used. The captured images were analyzed by measuring the intensity of the colored pixels, which was proportional to the biofilm biomass. A statistically significant difference was found when the intensity of the inoculum was compared with the intensity of the microchannel in which the MBIC of tobramycin, fosfomycin, or their combination was used (P < 0.01) but not when the MIC was applied (P > 0.01). Fosfomycin-tobramycin was demonstrated to be synergistic against cystic fibrosis P. aeruginosa strains in the biofilm models when both the Calgary and the microfluidic BioFlux systems were tested. These results support the clinical use of this combination.