New ways to stop biofilm infections

Abstract

As the use of indwelling medical devices has increased in the past few decades, so has the occurrence of persistent infections associated with these implants.1 Biofilms are at the root of these troublesome infections. Biofilms are bacteria and yeast that congregate on surfaces, in multicellular aggregates, in which they are protected from host defences and from killing by antibiotics.2,3 The only sure way to resolve a biofilm infection is to remove the infected device. What can be done to improve this situation?