Anti-microbial Compound Profiling

Eradication of biofilms is an issue of importance across a variety of scientific, medical and engineering disciplines. Biofilms are often refractory to many antibiotics and disinfectants to which planktonic bacteria are susceptible. A chief aim of much of biofilm research is to explore the effectiveness of anti-biofilm compounds as well as the discovery of novel inhibitors of biofilm formation or exactors of biofilm dispersal.

The BioFlux system can be used for screening panels of anti-microbial compounds using physiologically-relevant shear flow conditions. Key benefits include:

• Low compound use, low media use
• Compounds may be added on the fly
• Screen by microscopy, well sampling or using a plate reader
• Supports up to 96-biofilms grown under identical flow conditions with one controller

Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms grown in BioFlux plate channels and then stained with live/dead reagents. Plate were then scanned using a microplate fluorimeter. Shown is an early image of bacteria stained with Syto9, the live component of the BacLight Viability staining kit (Invitrogen).