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Microbiological Methods for Target-Oriented Screening of Biofilm Inhibitors

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Microbial Biofilms

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1147))

Abstract

The ability of many pathogenic bacteria to grow as a biofilm results in lower susceptibility to antibiotic treatments and to the host immune response, thus leading to the development of chronic infections. The understanding that biofilms can play an important role in bacterial virulence has prompted the search for inhibitors of biofilm development and of biofilm-related cellular processes. In this report, we present two examples of target-based microbiological screenings for antimicrobials endowed with anti-biofilm activity, aimed respectively at the inhibition of the signal molecule cyclic di-GMP and of quorum sensing.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Nadia Raffaelli for the protocol of the HPLC method for c-di-GMP determination and for critical reading. Work in P.L.’s laboratory has been supported by the Italian Foundation for Research on Cystic Fibrosis (project FFC#13/2009, with the contribution of Delegazione Novara and Delegazione Cosenza-2) and by the CHEM-PROFARMA-NET Research Program (Project RBPR05NWWC_004) from the Italian Ministry for University and Research.

Funding to L.L. has been provided by the Italian Foundation for Research on Cystic Fibrosis (projects FFC#14/2010 and FFC#13/2011, with the contribution of delegazione FFC di Vittoria-Ragusa, Delegazione FFC del Lago di Garda con Gruppi di Sostegno di Chivasso, dell’Isola Bergamasca e della Valpolicella, Delegazione FFC di Verbania e Antonio Guadagnin & Figlio).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sciences, Università “Roma Tre”, Rome, Italy

    Livia Leoni

  2. Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, Milan, 20133, Italy

    Paolo Landini

Authors
  1. Livia Leoni
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  2. Paolo Landini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paolo Landini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS Microbial Biofilm Laboratory, Rome, Italy

    Gianfranco Donelli

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Leoni, L., Landini, P. (2014). Microbiological Methods for Target-Oriented Screening of Biofilm Inhibitors. In: Donelli, G. (eds) Microbial Biofilms. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1147. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0467-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0467-9_12

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0466-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-0467-9

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