title: Prevention of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and reduction in established biofilm density using a combination of phage K and modified derivatives.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the ability of a mixture of phage K and six of its modified derivatives to prevent biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus and also to reduce the established biofilm density.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The bioluminescence-producing Staph. aureus Xen29 strain was used in the study, and incubation of this strain in static microtitre plates at 37°C for 48 h confirmed its strong biofilm-forming capacity. Subsequently, removal of established biofilms of Staph. aureus Xen29 with the high-titre phage combination was investigated over time periods of 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Results suggested that these biofilms were eliminated in a time-dependent manner, with biofilm biomass reduction significantly greater after 72 h than after 24-48 h. In addition, initial challenge of Staph. aureus Xen29 with the phage cocktail resulted in the complete inhibition of biofilm formation over a 48-h period with no appearance of phage resistance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In general, our findings demonstrate the potential use of a modified phage combination for the prevention and successful treatment of Staph. aureus biofilms, which are implicated in several antibiotic-resistant infections.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the first use of phage K for the successful removal and prevention of biofilms of Staph. aureus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Co. Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: McAuliffe
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coffey
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D017900:Myoviridae / Q000145:classification; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology*; D017108:Streptococcus Phages / Q000145:classification