Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Formation and Its Control

Abstract

Microbes are hardly seen as planktonic species and are most commonly found as biofilmcommunities in cases of chronic infections. Biofilms are regarded as a biological condition, where alarge group of microorganisms gets adhered to a biotic or abiotic surface. In this context, Pseudomonasaeruginosa, a Gram-negative nosocomial pathogen is the main causative organism responsible forlife-threatening and persistent infections in individuals affected with cystic fibrosis and other lungailments. The bacteria can form a strong biofilm structure when it adheres to a surface suitablefor the development of a biofilm matrix. These bacterial biofilms pose higher natural resistance toconventional antibiotic therapy due to their multiple tolerance mechanisms. This prevailing conditionhas led to an increasing rate of treatment failures associated with P. aeruginosa biofilm infections. Abetter understanding of the effect of a diverse group of antibiotics on established biofilms wouldbe necessary to avoid inappropriate treatment strategies. Hence, the search for other alternativestrategies as effective biofilm treatment options has become a growing area of research. The currentreview aims to give an overview of the mechanisms governing biofilm formation and the differentstrategies employed so far in the control of biofilm infections caused by P. aeruginosa. Moreover, thisreview can also help researchers to search for new antibiofilm agents to tackle the effect of biofilminfections that are currently imprudent to conventional antibiotics.