Standardized reactors for the study of medical biofilms: a review of the principles and latest modifications

Abstract

Biofilms can cause severe problems to human health due to the high tolerance to antimicrobials; consequently, biofilm science and technology constitutes an important research field. Growing a relevant biofilm in the laboratory provides insights into the basic understanding of the biofilm life cycle including responses to antibiotic therapies. Therefore, the selection of an appropriate biofilm reactor is a critical decision, necessary to obtain reproducible and reliable in vitro results. A reactor should be chosen based upon the study goals and a balance between the pros and cons associated with its use and operational conditions that are as similar as possible to the clinical setting. However, standardization in biofilm studies is rare. This review will focus on the four reactors (Calgary biofilm device, Center for Disease Control biofilm reactor, drip flow biofilm reactor, and rotating disk reactor) approved by a standard setting organization (ASTM International) for biofilm experiments and how researchers have modified these standardized reactors and associated protocols to improve the study and understanding of medical biofilms.

Activity of Antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus in an In Vitro Model of Biofilms in the Context of Cystic Fibrosis: Influence of the Culture Medium

“…Many studies investigating the activity of antibiotics against biofilms consider only parameters like the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) and the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) to establish potential interest in them (19)(20)(21), yet these methods lack standardization (19) and do not allow examination of antibiotic pharmacodynamics in detail.…”

Methodologies for in vitro and in vivo evaluation of efficacy of antifungal and antibiofilm agents and surface coatings against fungal biofilms

“…In order to study the efficacy of antimicrobial designs in preventing biofilm formation, biofilm methods are applied 123 124 . These methods resemble the "adhesion based" methods in that the process begins with an adhesion step in a low nutrient environment and over an extended incubation period, adhering microorganisms form a biofilm.…”

Testing Anti-Biofilm Polymeric Surfaces: Where to Start?

“…Flow systems have the advantage of simultaneously testing different surface materials, analysing samples in a non-invasive manner and with standardized protocols [134]. Additionally, bioreactors allow the sampling of materials aseptically at different time points during biofilm development, without compromising the entire experiment.…”