Dear Colleagues,

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern, associated with a high social and economic burden. The bacterial ability to form communities, known as biofilms, capable of adhering to abiotic and biotic surfaces is currently considered one of the most important mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, as well as a key virulence factor for many relevant pathogens. Most chronic infections are biofilm-mediated, including pneumonia in cystic fibrosis patients, osteomyelitis, chronic wound infections, and otitis. Additionally, the role of biofilms has recently been recognized both in acute infections and in chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease. Biofilm formation significantly contributes to microbial survival in hostile environments; the bacterial cell was up to 1000 times more resistant within the biofilm with respect to its planktonic form. Contrary to conventional antibiotics, most antibiofilm compounds act as antivirulence agents as they do not affect bacterial growth, imposing a low selective pressure for the onset of antibiotic resistance mechanisms. In the recent decade, many efforts have been made to identify new agents able to interfere with the bacterial biofilm lifecycle, and although many compounds have shown interesting activities for potentially inhibiting biofilm formation or in dispersing preformed biofilms, only a few of these have been validated for their clinical significance using in vivo models. Therefore, much work is still needed in this field.

Prof. Girolamo Cirrincione
Dr. Stella Maria Cascioferro
Dr. Barbara Parrino
Guest Editors

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• antibiofilm compounds
• antivirulence strategy
• antibiotic resistance
• persister cells
• ESKAPE pathogens