title: Development of anin vitroAssay, Based on the BioFilm Ring Test®, for Rapid Profiling of Biofilm-Growing Bacteria.
abstract: Microbial biofilm represents a major virulence factor associated with chronic and recurrent infections. Pathogenic bacteria embedded in biofilms are highly resistant to environmental and chemical agents, including antibiotics and therefore difficult to eradicate. Thus, reliable tests to assess biofilm formation by bacterial strains as well as the impact of chemicals or antibiotics on biofilm formation represent desirable tools for a most effective therapeutic management and microbiological risk control. Current methods to evaluate biofilm formation are usually time-consuming, costly, and hardly applicable in the clinical setting. The aim of the present study was to develop and assess a simple and reliablein vitroprocedure for the characterization of biofilm-producing bacterial strains for future clinical applications based on the BioFilm Ring Test® (BRT) technology. The procedure developed for clinical testing (cBRT) can provide an accurate and timely (5 h) measurement of biofilm formation for the most common pathogenic bacteria seen in clinical practice. The results gathered by the cBRT assay were in agreement with the traditional crystal violet (CV) staining test, according to the κ coefficient test (κ = 0.623). However, the cBRT assay showed higher levels of specificity (92.2%) and accuracy (88.1%) as compared to CV. The results indicate that this procedure offers an easy, rapid and robust assay to test microbial biofilm and a promising tool for clinical microbiology.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Department, San Gallicano Institute, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Enea G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Di Domenico
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Consultant, San Gallicano Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Toma
authors.affiliation: BioFilm Control, Biopole Clermont Limagne Saint Beauzire, France.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Provot
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology C. Darwin, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fiorentina
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ascenzioni
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics, San Gallicano Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sperduti
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Department, San Gallicano Institute, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prignano
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Department, San Gallicano Institute, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Department, San Gallicano Institute, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fulvia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pimpinelli
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Department, San Gallicano Institute, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bordignon
authors.affiliation: BioFilm Control, Biopole Clermont Limagne Saint Beauzire, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Department, San Gallicano Institute, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ensoli
keywords: BioFilm Ring Test; Klebsiella pneumonia; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Ralstonia mannitolilytica; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus epidermidis; biofilm; crystal violet