The determination of the chemical composition of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of the biofilm matrix, as well as the elucidation of the sensitivity of biofilms to enzymatic degradation should facilitate

the development of new therapies against biofilm-related infections. BMN673 The chemical analyses of EPS had shown qualitative and quantitative variations of their nature, depending on the strains and culture conditions. The poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) is considered the main component of staphylococcal biofilms. However, certain strains form biofilms without PNAG. In addition to PNAG and proteins, extracellular teichoic acid was identified as a new component of the staphylococcal biofilms. The sensitivity of staphylococcal biofilms to enzymatic treatments depended on their relative chemical composition, and a PNAG-degrading enzyme, in conjunction with proteases, could be an efficient solution to eliminate the staphylococcal biofilms. A detection of specific ‘antibiofilm’

antibodies in the blood serum of patients could serve as a convenient noninvasive and inexpensive diagnostic tool for the detection of foreign body-associated staphylococcal infections. Used as a coating antigen in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test, PNAG did not sufficiently discriminate healthy individuals from the infected patients. selleck chemicals llc While Staphylococcus aureus is known as a pathogen with a number of virulence factors (e.g. exotoxins and enzymes), Staphylococcus epidermidis is mainly a normal inhabitant of the healthy human skin and mucosal microbial communities. As a commensal bacterium, it has a low pathogenic potential. In recent decades, however, S. epidermidis and other coagulase-negative staphylococci

(CoNS) have emerged as a common cause of numerous nosocomial infections, mostly occurring in immunocompromised hosts or patients with implanted medical devices, such as intravascular and peritoneal dialysis catheters, prosthetic heart valves, or orthopaedic implants (Ziebuhr et al., 2006). These infections can be described as ‘chronic polymer-associated infections’ (Götz, 2002). A characteristic feature of this kind of infection is the ability of the causative microorganisms to colonize surfaces of biomaterials in multilayered biofilm-structured AMP deaminase communities of cells enclosed in a self-produced polymeric matrix, an amorphous slimy material, which is loosely bound to staphylococcal cells. This ability to form biofilms is believed to make the microorganisms more resistant to administered antibiotics and to the defence mechanisms of host immunity (von Eiff et al., 1999). Evidence suggests that biofilm formation also plays a role in S. aureus wound infections (Akiyama et al., 1996) and osteomyeltis (Buxton et al., 1987). To date, no efficient treatment or early diagnostics of implant-associated infections has been proposed.