Technologies

Bacterial biofilm formation is a major problem not only for patients with inner ear infections, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia and COPD, but also for patients requiring implanted medical devices. Once a biofilm is formed, treatment of the infection with antimicrobial agents is difficult if not impossible. Reducing the protective, impenetrable biofilm barrier is necessary to make the bacteria accessible to antibacterial treatments. Researchers at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and at the University of Southern California have identified a protein, IHF, which is a central component of the bacterial biofilm formed by several pathogenic bacteria. It constitutes an important structural component of the biofilm, and has been targeted to resolve biofilm-related infection in several in vitro and in vivo models.