Adhesive colonization of biomaterials and antibiotic resistance.
This study addresses the problem of antibiotic resistance in adhesive, biomaterial-centred infections. It is suggested that this anionic, extracapsular, polysaccharide slime produced by bacteria protects them from antibiotics and sequesters critical ions from the surface of biomaterials. Biofilm-enclosed bacteria on the surface of stainless steel substrata in a test chamber were challenged with incremental levels of tobramycin. In this setting, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal level of tobramycin for Staphylococcus epidermis were well above normal.
Section of Orthopedic Surgery, Wake Forest University Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
A G
AG
Gristina
C D
CD
Hobgood
L X
LX
Webb
Q N
QN
Myrvik
D000180:Acrylic Resins; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014031:Tobramycin / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000180:Acrylic Resins; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D014031:Tobramycin