Recent Trends in Biofilm Science and Technology helps researchers working on fundamental aspects of biofilm formation and control conduct biofilm studies and interpret results. The book provides a remarkable amount of knowledge on the processes that regulate biofilm formation, the methods used, monitoring characterization and mathematical modeling, the problems/advantages caused by their presence in the food industry, environment and medical fields, and the current and emergent strategies for their control. Research on biofilms has progressed rapidly in the last decade due to the fact that biofilms have required the development of new analytical tools and new collaborations between biologists, engineers and mathematicians. - Presents an overview of the process of biofilm formation and its implications - Provides a clearer understanding of the role of biofilms in infections - Creates a foundation for further research on novel control strategies - Updates readers on the remarkable amount of knowledge on the processes that regulate biofilm formation

This book will cover both the evidence for biofilms in many chronic bacterial infections as well as the problems facing these infections such as diagnostics and treatment regimes. A still increasing interest and emphasis on the sessile bacterial lifestyle biofilms has been seen since it was realized that that less than 0.1% of the total microbial biomass lives in the planktonic mode of growth. The term was coined in 1978 by Costerton et al. who defined the term biofilm for the first time.In 1993 the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) recognised that the biofilmmode of growth was relevant to microbiology. Lately many articles have been published on the clinical implications of bacterial biofilms. Both original articles and reviews concerning the biofilm problem are available.

Over the last few decades, the study of microbial biofilms has been gaining interest among the scientific community. These microbial communities comprise cells adhered to surfaces that are surrounded by a self-produced exopolymeric matrix that protects biofilm cells against different external stresses. Biofilms can have a negative impact on different sectors within society, namely in agriculture, food industries, and veterinary and human health. As a consequence of their metabolic state and matrix protection, biofilm cells are very difficult to tackle with antibiotics or chemical disinfectants. Due to this problem, recent advances in the development of antibiotic alternatives or complementary strategies to prevent or control biofilms have been reported. This book includes different strategies to prevent biofilm formation or to control biofilm development and includes full research articles, reviews, a communication, and a perspective.

Biofilms are highly organized polymicrobial communities that are embedded in an extracellular matrix and formed on natural and artificial surfaces. In the oral cavity, biofilms are formed not only on natural teeth, but also on restorative materials, prosthetic constructions, and dental implants. Oral diseases like caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, and also pulp inflammation are associated with biofilms. This publication is an up-to-date overview on oral biofilms from different clinically relevant perspectives. Experts comprising basic researchers and clinicians report on recent research relating to biofilms - from general summaries to recommendations for daily clinical work. This book covers all aspects of oral biofilms, including models used in the laboratory, biofilms in dental water unit lines, periodontal and peri-implant biofilms, caries-related biofilms, halitosis, endodontic biofilms, and Candida infections, as well as biofilms on dental materials and on orthodontic appliances. Several chapters deal with anti-biofilm therapy, from the efficacy of mechanical methods and the use of antimicrobials, to alternative concepts. This publication is particularly recommended to dental medicine students, practitioners, other oral healthcare professionals, and scientists with an interest in translational research on biofilms.

Throughout the biological world, bacteria thrive predominantly in surface-attached, matrix-enclosed, multicellular communities or biofilms, as opposed to isolated planktonic cells. This choice of lifestyle is not trivial, as it involves major shifts in the use of genetic information and cellular energy, and has profound consequences for bacterial physiology and survival. Growth within a biofilm can thwart immune function and antibiotic therapy and thereby complicate the treatment of infectious diseases, especially chronic and foreign device-associated infections. Modern studies of many important biofilms have advanced well beyond the descriptive stage, and have begun to provide molecular details of the structural, biochemical, and genetic processes that drive biofilm formation and its dispersion. There is much diversity in the details of biofilm development among various species, but there are also commonalities. In most species, environmental and nutritional conditions greatly influence biofilm development. Similar kinds of adhesive molecules often promote biofilm formation in diverse species. Signaling and regulatory processes that drive biofilm development are often conserved, especially among related bacteria. Knowledge of such processes holds great promise for efforts to control biofilm growth and combat biofilm-associated infections. This volume focuses on the biology of biofilms that affect human disease, although it is by no means comprehensive. It opens with chapters that provide the reader with current perspectives on biofilm development, physiology, environmental, and regulatory effects, the role of quorum sensing, and resistance/phenotypic persistence to antimicrobial agents during biofilm growth.

The central theme of the book is the flow of information from experimental approaches in biofilm research to simulation and modeling of complex wastewater systems. Probably the greatest challenge in wastewater research lies in using the methods and the results obtained in one scientific discipline to design intelligent experiments in other disciplines, and eventually to improve the knowledge base the practitioner needs to run wastewater treatment plants. The purpose of Biofilms in Wastewater Treatment is to provide engineers with the knowledge needed to apply the new insights gained by researchers. The authors provide an authoritative insight into the function of biofilms on a technical and on a lab-scale, cover some of the exciting new basic microbiological and wastewater engineering research involving molecular biology techniques and microscopy, and discuss recent attempts to predict the development of biofilms. This book is divided into 3 sections: Modeling and Simulation; Architecture, Population Structure and Function; and From Fundamentals to Practical Application, which all start with a scientific question. Individual chapters attempt to answer the question and present different angles of looking at problems. In addition there is an extensive glossary to familiarize the non-expert with unfamiliar terminology used by microbiologists and computational scientists. The colour plate section of this book can be downloaded by clicking here. (PDF Format 1 MB)

This book provides a survey of recent advances in the development of antibiofilm agents for clinical and environmental applications. The fact that microbes exist in structured communities called biofilms has slowly become accepted within the medical community. We now know that over 80% of all infectious diseases are biofilm-related; however, significant challenges still lie in our ability to diagnose and treat these extremely recalcitrant infections. Written by experts from around the globe, this book offers a valuable resource for medical professionals seeking to treat biofilm-related disease, academic and industry researchers interested in drug discovery and instructors who teach courses on microbial pathogenesis and medical microbiology.

This book presents a thorough and authoritative overview of the multifaceted field of antibiotic science – offering guidance to translate research into tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases. Provides readers with knowledge about the broad field of drug resistance Offers guidance to translate research into tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases Links strategies to analyze microbes to the development of new drugs, socioeconomic impacts to therapeutic strategies, and public policies to antibiotic-resistance-prevention strategies

Beginning with the germ theory of disease in the 19th century and extending through most of the 20th century, microbes were believed to live their lives as solitary, unicellular, disease-causing organisms . This perception stemmed from the focus of most investigators on organisms that could be grown in the laboratory as cellular monocultures, often dispersed in liquid, and under ambient conditions of temperature, lighting, and humidity. Most such inquiries were designed to identify microbial pathogens by satisfying Koch's postulates.3 This pathogen-centric approach to the study of microorganisms produced a metaphorical "war" against these microbial invaders waged with antibiotic therapies, while simultaneously obscuring the dynamic relationships that exist among and between host organisms and their associated microorganisms-only a tiny fraction of which act as pathogens. Despite their obvious importance, very little is actually known about the processes and factors that influence the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities. Gaining this knowledge will require a seismic shift away from the study of individual microbes in isolation to inquiries into the nature of diverse and often complex microbial communities, the forces that shape them, and their relationships with other communities and organisms, including their multicellular hosts. On March 6 and 7, 2012, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop to explore the emerging science of the "social biology" of microbial communities. Workshop presentations and discussions embraced a wide spectrum of topics, experimental systems, and theoretical perspectives representative of the current, multifaceted exploration of the microbial frontier. Participants discussed ecological, evolutionary, and genetic factors contributing to the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities; how microbial communities adapt and respond to environmental stimuli; theoretical and experimental approaches to advance this nascent field; and potential applications of knowledge gained from the study of microbial communities for the improvement of human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health and toward a deeper understanding of microbial diversity and evolution. The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary further explains the happenings of the workshop.