A biofilm is a polysaccharide structure within which bacteria protect themselves from the external environment and remain adhered to the surface of the material as a film.
The microbial community that makes up the biofilm contains bacteria or fungi (sessile cells) that play an important role in dental bacterial infections by binding to salivary receptors in the film that covers the tooth (1).
The bacteria contained in the biofilm can survive antibiotics and the host's immune system.
The stages of biofilm formation are:
- attachment
- maturation
- dispersion
Many human diseases are linked to biofilms.
Biofilm studies
References____________________________________________________________________
(1) Rabin N, Zheng Y, Opoku-Temeng C, Du Y, Bonsu E, Sintim HO. Biofilm formation mechanisms and targets for developing antibiofilm agents. Future Med Chem. 2015;7(4):493-512. doi: 10.4155/fmc.15.6. Erratum in: Future Med Chem. 2015;7(10):1362.
