In vitro and in vivo biofilm wound models and their application

Abstract

Chronic wounds are wounds which are detained in one or more phases of normal wound healing. It is estimated that 1–2% of the population of developed countries will experience a chronic wound during their lifetime and this number is expected to increase given the growing world population, increase in age, body mass index and associated diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Although several factors contribute to wound healing, presence of bacterial biofilms significantly affects healing and success of wound treatment. This indicates that wound-care therapies should be directed towards targeting biofilms within chronic wounds. Despite this, the role of biofilms in chronic wound pathogenesis and the effect of wound-care therapies against biofilms within wounds are not well understood. In order to address these issues, appropriate biofilm models are necessary. To this end, several model systems mimicking the conditions observed in a biofilm infected chronic wound have been developed. In this review we present an overview of these different in vitro and in vivo biofilm wound model systems and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.