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(18−20)īecause of their peculiar properties, bacterial biofilms have attracted tremendous attention in various industrial and medical fields. (17) As a result, bacterial biofilm treatments require antibiotic doses hundreds or even thousands times higher than those required to eradicate planktonic bacteria. These cells are highly immune to conventional antibiotics that typically target growing and metabolically active bacteria. (12−14) In addition, the gradient of nutrients and bacterial metabolites in the biofilm results in areas where cells are in a “dormant” state (i.e., nongrowing cells with extremely reduced metabolic activity (15,16)). (10,11) Utilizing these activated features, the EPS matrix can hamper antibiotic penetration into the biofilm and accumulate cell products which then degrade the drugs and induce phenotypic differentiation. It also improves the resource capture and the surface adhesion and offers digestive capacity, protection against external agents, and inhibition of bacterial dehydration. First, the EPS matrix facilitates intercellular interactions and horizontal gene transfer. Unlike free-living bacterial cells, the EPS can create a unique local microenvironment for various functionalities. (10) The production and secretion of EPS require massive investment from cell resources and energy. The EPS matrix, also labeled as the “house of the biofilm cells”, mostly consists of polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and extracellular DNA (eDNA). When the biofilm approaches a critical thickness, it starts to release planktonic bacteria into the bulk environment to colonize new surfaces (stage 3 in Figure 1).
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Bacteria further multiply to develop more biofilm until it reaches the maximum volume, which corresponds to the maturation phase (stage 2 in Figure 1). Once the adhesion becomes irreversible, the bacteria start to proliferate, aggregate into clusters, and secrete EPS, eventually losing their mobility to form the initial biofilm (stage 1 in Figure 1). The interactions between the bacteria and the components of the conditioning layer and the bacterial appendages (i.e., cilia, flagelli, and curli) allow the planktonic cells to adhere onto the surface (i.e., early adhesion of bacteria). First, planktonic bacteria adhere onto a surface (i.e., early adhesion), which is promoted by a conditioning layer consisting of organic and inorganic molecules that are either secreted by the bacteria approaching the surface or settled from the bulk solution. (7−9) A general description of bacterial biofilm formation usually entails three major stages, highlighted in Figure 1. Biofilm formation is a complex microbial process involving different development phases, some of which are specific to the type of bacteria involved. Cells in a multilayered biofilm experience cell-to-cell interactions, either within the biofilms in direct contact with the solid surface or in flocs where mobile biofilms are formed without adhering on a surface. (1−6) This condition is significantly different from planktonic bacteria, where bacterial cells freely move in a bulk solution. Finally we discuss possible new research directions for the development of robust and rapid biofilm related sensors with high temporal and spatial resolutions, pertinent to a wide range of applications.īacterial biofilms are aggregates of microorganisms in which cells are embedded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs). In this perspective, we provide an overview on the connections between sensing and microbial biofilms, focusing on tools used to investigate biofilm properties, kinetics, and their response to chemicals or physical agents, and biofilm-based sensors, a type of biosensor using the bacterial biofilm as a biorecognition element to capture the presence of the target of interest by measuring the metabolic activity of the immobilized microbial cells. Meanwhile microbial biofilms can also be utilized positively as sensing elements in cell-based sensors due to their strong adhesion on surfaces. These global issues strongly motivate researchers to develop novel methodologies to investigate the kinetics underlying biofilm formation, to understand the response of the biofilm with different chemical and physical treatments, and to identify biofilm-specific drugs with high-throughput screenings. Microbial biofilms have caused serious concerns in healthcare, medical, and food industries because of their intrinsic resistance against conventional antibiotics and cleaning procedures and their capability to firmly adhere on surfaces for persistent contamination.