Biofilm Associated Antimicrobial Resistance and Its Recovery

A biofilm is a collection of microbial cells that have adhered to biotic surfaces such as plant cuticles or animal epithelia, as well as abiotic surfaces such as rocky substratum or catheter exteriors. The life cycle of a microorganism includes the fundamental process of biofilm formation for survival in diverse and harsh environments since it is a protected mode of growth allowing colonisation of new habitats by dispersal of microbes from the microbial clusters. The biofilm bound microorganisms remain embedded in an extracellular polymeric matrix that protects the indwelling cells from surfactants, biocides, several invaders like protozoans, and defences offered by the hosts like phagocytic cells. The biofilm bound recalcitrant microbes induce chronic and nosocomial diseases, posing a serious threat to public health. It has been observed that various antimicrobial drugs are able to successfully remove the planktonic (freely suspended) states of microbes as compared to the sessile (substrate-bound) forms, thus resulting in the development of antimicrobial resistance.

Modern pharmacological strategies targeting the biofilm matrix differ from the conventional methods of antibiotic usage. This includes the use of natural compounds such as plant bioactive molecules, antimicrobial peptides, green synthesised nanoparticles, or secondary metabolites from other organisms that not only prevent the rise of antimicrobial resistance but are also safe for the host tissues.

Biofilm Associated Antimicrobial Resistance and Its Recovery provides a detailed and systematic review of alternative pharmacological developments in the field of biofilm research.

Features:

• A narrative overview of the mechanism of biofilm formation and its role in the emergence of antimicrobial resistance
• Recent research in the development of antibiofilm remedies involving biogenic compounds
• Advancements in biofilm detection methodologies with cutting-edge technologies

This book serves as a resource for researchers who need to understand and analyze the progression of events during microbial biofilm formation, as well as design safer methodologies for its successful eradication. It may also be used as a textbook for a graduate level course in microbiology or microbial biotechnology.

Dibyajit Lahiri is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, University of Engineering & Management, Kolkata. His research is precisely on biofilm isolated from human prosthesis and its inhibition by various novel phyto and nano compounds. He is keen to explore the molecular mechanism behind the removal of biofilm by natural compounds. His research area also encompasses computational drug development by using bioinformatics. His work is regularly presented before and appreciated by a number of experts of national and international repute. He is the editor of various international journals. He is a life member of the Indian Science Congress Association and Institution of Engineers (India). He has also edited books for Springer Nature and Elsevier.

Moupriya Nag is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, University of Engineering & Management, Kolkata. Her research interests include single molecule Biophysics of protein unfolding/refolding and protein aggregation kinetics and its mechanism of action especially the amyloid proteins in neurodegenerative disorders. Her recent research focuses on functional amyloids in bacteria and their relation in forming biofilms. Her work deals with developing novel antimicrobial and anti-biofilm compounds from natural sources including plants, microbes and green synthesized nanoparticles. She has about six years of teaching experience in Biophysics, Bioinformatics, Bioprocess and Biotechnology, Enzyme Technology, Computing, Molecular Modeling and Drug Design. She has also published many research articles in peer-reviewed international journals and authored or co-authored numerous book chapters. She is also a member of many scientific societies such as the Indian Biophysical Society and Indian Science Congress Association.

Rina Rani Ray is Associate Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal. Her research focusses on the diverse field of microbial biotechnology. She has worked in academia and research for more than 25 years in several institutes of repute. She started her research career in the field of microbial enzyme technology. She successfully completed a number of research projects funded by different sponsoring agencies such as UGC, DST and DRDO and is working on a project sponsored by DBT, WB. She has published around 80 research papers in various peer-reviewed national and international journals and is on the editorial boards and a regular reviewer of many journals. At present her research group is working on the positive and negative aspects of bacterial biofilm. She is a member of various scientific associations and was nominated fellow of the Zoological Society, India and the Academy for Environment and Life Sciences, India. She has also edited books for Springer Nature.

Sougata Ghosh is Associate Professor and Research Co- ordinator in the Department of Microbiology, School of Science, RK University, India. He obtained his BSc., MSc. and Ph.D. in Microbiology from Savitribai Phule Pune University, India. He is also Visiting Professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand and Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, USA. He was principle investigator of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India funded Foldscope Research Project. He has filed three patents on novel nanodrugs and published more than 70 highly cited research articles in various international journals such as the International Journal of Nanomedicine, Journal of Nanobiotechnology, Journal of Nanomaterials, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. He has 4077 citations, h-index 33 and i10 index 70. He has written one book entitled Dioscorea bulbifera: A model system in nanobiotechnology and medicine, which is a frequently consulted, voluminous and comprehensive report on traditional medicinal plants. He has edited eight books and contributed to 150 book chapters. As speaker he has addressed numerous international conferences, the most notable being IJAS- 2019 and 2017 at Harvard University; ITNANO, Northeastern University, Boston; ASM Biodefense, Washington D.C.; Nano- Bio- Med 2013, Trieste, Italy; and BioMicroWorld2013, Madrid, Spain. He is a reviewer for various reputed journals such as Nanoscale, Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology, Journal of Diabetes Research, International Journal of Advances in Engineering Research, International Journal of Research in Science and Technology, Chemotherapy Research and Practice, Journal of Nanomedicine & Biotherapeutic Discovery, Journal of Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology, Applied Nanoscience and Arabian Journal of Chemistry (Elsevier). He is a life member of the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI). His area of research consists of but is not limited to nanomedicine, microbial metabolism, bioprospecting, bioremediation, biofilms, cancer and diabetes.