Anti-Biofilm Drug Susceptibility Testing Methods: Looking for New Strategies against Resistance Mechanism

Abstract

Biofilm is a reservoir of drug resistant microorganisms that can increase the failure rate of anti-infective therapy and is a public health concern. Antibiofilm drug discovery is necessary for developing new drugs, biocides and wound management protocols. This makes the standardization and implementation of in vitro antibiofilm screening platforms a challenge in the search for new antibiotics, because current antimicrobials are active against planktonic bacteria and have poor diffusion across biofilm matrix. Usually, based in the research topic, the antibiofilm methods have been classified in static and flow depending of continuous supply of nutrients that affect the microbial growth, the final aim of these assays is obtain Minimal Biofilm Inhibitory Concentration (MBIC) and Minimal Biofilm Eradication Concentration (MBEC) values as efficacy parameter of the compound or procedure evaluated, but is very important correlates data from different models in order to give real results of activity. This review aims at describing the initial tools for to establishing an antibiofilm drug discovery-prospecting program.