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.
Gristina
A G
AG
Section of Orthopedic Surgery, Wake Forest University Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
Hobgood
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CD
Webb
L X
LX
Myrvik
Q N
QN
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