Liquid infused silicon based urinary catheters: A simple laboratory model to study bacterial biofilm formation

Biofilms are organized communities of micro-organisms buried firmly on an extra polymeric matrix attached to the living surface. The matrix which is formed surrounding the bacteria makes them tolerant to harsh environmental conditions as well as resistant to antibacterial treatment. The development of biofilms in clinical or hospital settings is the major reason for several infections. They have a negative impact when they are formed on medical devices as it is difficult to eradicate them using disinfectants or antibiotics available. Several in vitro models have been implemented in the last decade to evaluate antimicrobial activity on bacterial biofilms. Although well-established static biofilm methods are available; there is a lack of simple dynamic biofilm models to replicate the clinical settings of biofilm development. In this scenario, considering the importance of this research area, we planned to design laboratory-scale working models to study biofilms. We used Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism. We divided the biofilm models into two categories namely static and dynamic models. The dynamic model of biofilm, that we used for mimicking the clinical setting, was a silicone-based catheter model. This new model will contribute to deeper knowledge about the physiology, structure, formation, and composition of biofilms. This method can be used as an appropriate and up-to-date technique to study biofilms in laboratory settings.