Biofilms are matrix-enclosed microbial aggregates that adhere to a biological or nonbiological surface. Biofilm formation is a significant problem in the medical, food, and marine industries and can lead to substantial economic and health problems. The complex microbial community of a biofilm is highly resistant to antibiotics and sanitizers and confers persistent survival that is a challenge to overcome. There are several conventional approaches to combating biofilms, physical and/or mechanical removal, chemical removal, and the use of antimicrobials, sanitizers, or disinfectants to kill biofilm organisms. However, biofilms are highly resistant to these approaches as opposed to planktonic cells. Thus, novel approaches other than the conventional methods are urgently needed. In this review, we discuss current and new advanced antibiofilm strategies that are superior to the conventional method in terms of addressing the biofilm problem for the improvement of healthcare, food safety, and in industrial processes.

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Biofilm formation is a growing concern in the food industry. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is one of the most important foodborne pathogens that can persists in food and food-related environments and subsequently produce biofilms. The efficacy of bacteriophage BPECO 19 was evaluated against three E. coli O157:H7 strains in biofilms. Biofilms of the three E. coli O157:H7 strains were grown on abiotic (stainless steel, rubber, and minimum biofilm eradication concentration [MBEC ] device) and biotic (lettuce) surfaces at different temperatures. The effectiveness of bacteriophage BPECO 19 in reducing preformed biofilms on these surfaces was further evaluated by treating the surfaces with a phage suspension (10 PFU/mL) for 2 h. The results indicated that the phage treatment significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the number of adhered cells in all the surfaces. Following phage treatment, the viability of adhered cells was reduced by ≥3 log CFU/cm , 2.4 log CFU/cm , and 3.1 log CFU/peg in biofilms grown on stainless steel, rubber, and the MBEC device, respectively. Likewise, the phage treatment reduced cell viability by ≥2 log CFU/cm in biofilms grown on lettuce. Overall, these results suggested that bacteriophages such as BPECO 19 could be effective in reducing the viability of biofilm-adhered cells.