The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection

We have become increasingly aware that during infection, pathogenic bacteria often grow in multi- cellular biofilms which are often highly resistant to antibacterial strategies. In order to understand how biofilms form and contribute to infection, in vitro biofilm systems such as microtitre plate as...

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Main Authors: Roberts, Aled, Kragh, Kasper, Bjarnsholt, Thomas, Diggle, Stephen P.
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31950/
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author Roberts, Aled
Kragh, Kasper
Bjarnsholt, Thomas
Diggle, Stephen P.
author_facet Roberts, Aled
Kragh, Kasper
Bjarnsholt, Thomas
Diggle, Stephen P.
author_sort Roberts, Aled
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description We have become increasingly aware that during infection, pathogenic bacteria often grow in multi- cellular biofilms which are often highly resistant to antibacterial strategies. In order to understand how biofilms form and contribute to infection, in vitro biofilm systems such as microtitre plate as- says and flow cells, have been heavily used by many research groups around the world. Whilst these methods have greatly increased our understanding of the biology of biofilms, it is becoming increasingly apparent that many of our in vitro methods do not accurately represent in vivo conditions. Here we present a systematic review of the most widely used in vitro biofilm systems, and we discuss why they are not always representative of the in vivo biofilms found in chronic infections. We present examples of methods that will help us to bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo biofilm work, so that our bench-side data can ultimately be used to improve bedside treatment.
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spelling nottingham-319502020-05-04T17:22:06Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31950/ The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection Roberts, Aled Kragh, Kasper Bjarnsholt, Thomas Diggle, Stephen P. We have become increasingly aware that during infection, pathogenic bacteria often grow in multi- cellular biofilms which are often highly resistant to antibacterial strategies. In order to understand how biofilms form and contribute to infection, in vitro biofilm systems such as microtitre plate as- says and flow cells, have been heavily used by many research groups around the world. Whilst these methods have greatly increased our understanding of the biology of biofilms, it is becoming increasingly apparent that many of our in vitro methods do not accurately represent in vivo conditions. Here we present a systematic review of the most widely used in vitro biofilm systems, and we discuss why they are not always representative of the in vivo biofilms found in chronic infections. We present examples of methods that will help us to bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo biofilm work, so that our bench-side data can ultimately be used to improve bedside treatment. Elsevier 2015-11-20 Article PeerReviewed Roberts, Aled, Kragh, Kasper, Bjarnsholt, Thomas and Diggle, Stephen P. (2015) The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection. Journal of Molecular Biology, 427 (23). pp. 3646-3661. ISSN 1089-8638 biofilm; chronic infection http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022283615004908 doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2015.09.002 doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2015.09.002
spellingShingle biofilm; chronic infection
Roberts, Aled
Kragh, Kasper
Bjarnsholt, Thomas
Diggle, Stephen P.
The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection
title The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection
title_full The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection
title_fullStr The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection
title_full_unstemmed The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection
title_short The limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection
title_sort limitations of in vitro experimentation in understanding biofilms and chronic infection
topic biofilm; chronic infection
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31950/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31950/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31950/