Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 3
Gelatin-based
micro-3D printed
polymicrobial community.
Cut-away 3D mask
reconstruction (
upper
) and
bright-field image (
lower
)
of a nested polymicrobial
community with an
S. aureus
microcluster
confined in a 1 pL
hemispherical cavity
surrounded by a high-
density
P. aeruginosa
population confined in a
30 pL square cavity. The
5-
m-thick roofs used to
seal inner cavities and the
outer chambers are not
visible in the bright-field
images (scale bars, 10
μ
μ
m).
Images courtesy of
J. Connell and M. Whiteley
bacteria within highly porous, cross-linked gelatin structures (Connell et al.
2013
)
(Fig.
3
). These innovative strategies should prove invaluable for studying cell-to-
cell signaling interactions between polymicrobial populations and provide new
insights into the dynamics of QS in biofilm formation.
5 Efficacy of QS Modulators as Antibiofilm Agents
Academically, it is of interest to understand how QS impacts biofilm formation by
different microbes, but in regard to developing antibiofilm agents that target QS, it
is essential. For example, if QS in a specific species is only required for attachment
or at early stages of biofilm formation, then treating already mature biofilms with a
QS inhibitor (QSI) would be ineffective. Similarly, treating bacteria that use QS to
negatively regulate biofilm formation (e.g.,
S. aureus
) with a QSI could be detri-
mental. Unfortunately, as the information presented above illustrates, different
classes of signals can positively or negatively regulate different stages of biofilm
formation in different species. Therefore, developing a universal LuxS inhibitor, for
example, would be unrealistic. Furthermore, potential effects of any QS modulating
agent on off-target microbial species or on host cell signaling pathways would have
to be carefully studied. On a positive note, as most QS-modulators are not bacte-
riocidal, they should pose less of a risk to the development of resistance in target
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