Center for Biofilm Engineering
Abstract:
"Modeling Biofilm Antimicrobial Resistance"
00-013 A computer model that integrates mechanisms of biofilm resistance
into disinfection by antimicrobial agents was developed.
Resistance mechanisms considered included: retarded penetration due to a stoichiometric reaction between the antimicrobial agent and biomass, incomplete
penetration due to a catalytic reaction between the antimicrobial agent and the
biomass, and the existence of a fraction of the cells in a resistant phenotypic
state. Mathematical models of these processes were derived and solved in
the computer simulation package MATLAB. Four sets of fitted experimental
data on the disinfection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms were fit to
each of the three models. No one model fit all of the data sets
adequately. Killing of a 2-day old biofilm by tobramycin was best
described by the physiological limitation model. Killing by hypochlorite
was best described the the stoichiometric transport model. Killing by
hydrogen peroxide was best simulated by the catalytic transport model.
These results suggest that multiple mechanisms of biofilm reduced susceptibility
are manifested even in biofilms of the same species and that the particular
resistance mechanism depends on the biofilm age, antimicrobial agent, and
biofilm thickness. The models presented in this article may be useful for
diagnosing mechanisms of biofilm resistance from experimental data.
Dodds, M.G., K.J. Grobe, P.S. Stewart, "Modeling Biofilm Antimicrobial
Resistance," Biotech Bioeng., 68(4):456-465 (2000).
|
sign take you to sites with
content for which the CBE is not responsible.