Microbial Biofilms, 2014 Methods and Protocols Methods in Molecular Biology Series, Vol. 1147

The discovery that most of the chronic infections in humans, including the oral, lung, vaginal and foreign body-associated infections, are biofilm-based, has prompted the need to design new and properly focused preventive and therapeutic strategies for these diseases. Microbial Biofilms: Methods and Protocols provides a detailed description of the currently available methods and protocols to investigate bacterial and fungal biofilms, exhaustively illustrated and critically annotated in 25 chapters written by authors well known for their experience in the respective fields. The book has joined together microbiologists and specialists in infectious diseases, hygiene and public health involved in exploring different aspects of microbial biofilms as well as in designing new methods and/or developing innovative laboratory protocols. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Authoritative and easily accessible, Microbial Biofilms: Methods and Protocols presents readers with the most established and validated experimental procedures to investigate microbial biofilms.

Methods for Dynamic Investigations of Surface Attached in vitro Bacterial and Fungal Biofilms.- Aqueous Two-Phase System Technology for Patterning Bacterial Communities and Biofilms.- Quorum Sensing in Gram-Positive Bacteria: Assay Protocols for Staphylococcal agr and enterococcal fsr Systems.- Advanced Techniques for in situ Analysis of the Biofilm Matrix (Structure, Composition, Dynamics) by Means of Laser Scanning Microscopy.- Multiplex Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (M-FISH) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) to Analyse Multispecies Oral Biofilms.- Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy of Biofilm-Growing Bacteria Involved in Nosocomial Infections.- Experimental Approaches to Investigating the Vaginal Biofilm Microbiome.- Imaging Bacteria and Biofilms on Hardware and Periprosthetic Tissue in Orthopaedic Infections.- Animal Models to Evaluate Bacterial Biofilm Development.- Animal Models to Investigate Fungal Biofilm Formation.- Non-Mammalian Model Systems to Investigate Fungal Biofilms.- Microbiological Methods for Target-Oriented Screening of Biofilm Inhibitors.- In vitro Screening of Antifungal Compounds Able to Counteract Biofilm Development.- Biofilm Matrix-Degrading Enzymes.- Efficacy Evaluation of  Antimicrobial Drug-Releasing Polymer Matrices.- Antibiotic Polymeric Nanoparticles for Biofilm-Associated Infection Therapy.- Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Antibiotics in Biofilm Infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro and in vivo.- Contribution of Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy in Deciphering Biofilm Tridimensional Structure and Reactivity.- Chip-Calorimetry for Evaluation of Biofilm Treatment with Biocides, Antibiotics and Biological Agents.- Bacteriophage Attack as an Anti-Biofilm Strategy.- Photodynamic Therapy as a Novel Antimicrobial Strategy Against Biofilm-Based Nosocomial Infections: Study Protocols.- Capturing Air-Water Interface Biofilms for Microscopy and Molecular Analysis.- Biofilm-Growing BacteriaInvolved in the Corrosion of Concrete Wastewater Pipes: Protocols for Comparative Metagenomic Analyses.- Culture-Independent Methods to Study Subaerial Biofilm Growing on Biodeteriorated Surfaces of Cultural Heritage Stone Materials and Frescoes.- Biofilms of Thermophilic Bacilli Isolated from Dairy Processing Plants and Efficacy of Sanitizers.