The Technology
Biofilms, in which bacteria are organized into sessile aggregates, present a serious public health concern by causing aggressive chronic infections, colonization of medical devices, and environmental hazards. Biofilms show an extreme resistance to antimicrobial agents, and evading the host defences. This fitness is correlated with the formation of ultra-stable protein fibrils called amyloids. Some compounds were suggested to act against biofilm including herbal active compounds, chelating agents, peptide antibiotics, and synthetic chemical compounds. These compounds are considered to be not very effective and require significant structural modifications. The novel technology includes peptides shown to inhibit Amyloid-β fibrillation, to be developed as anti-biofilm drugs. Targeting specific virulence determinants such as biofilm-associated amyloids can enable species-specific drugs, which would reduce the cross-resistance of other bacteria exposed to the drug and spare normal flora.
Advantages
- Reduce the aggressiveness of the infection while inducing less bacterial resistance
Applications
- Anti-biofilm drugs
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