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Silver against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms
Author(s) -
BJARNSHOLT THOMAS,
KIRKETERPMØLLER KLAUS,
KRISTIANSEN SØREN,
PHIPPS RICHARD,
NIELSEN ANNE KIRSTINE,
JENSEN PETER ØSTRUP,
HØIBY NIELS,
GIVSKOV MICHAEL
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0463.2007.apm_646.x
Subject(s) - biofilm , silver sulfadiazine , pseudomonas aeruginosa , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , antimicrobial , sulfadiazine , biology , chemistry , wound healing , antibiotics , immunology , genetics
Silver has been recognized for its antimicrobial properties for centuries. Most studies on the antibacterial efficacy of silver, with particular emphasis on wound healing, have been performed on planktonic bacteria. Our recent studies, however, strongly suggest that colonization of wounds involves bacteria in both the planktonic and biofilm modes of growth. The action of silver on mature in vitro biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a primary pathogen of chronic infected wounds, was investigated. The results show that silver is very effective against mature biofilms of P. aeruginosa , but that the silver concentration is important. A concentration of 5–10 μg/mL silver sulfadiazine eradicated the biofilm whereas a lower concentration (1 μg/mL) had no effect. The bactericidal concentration of silver required to eradicate the bacterial biofilm was 10–100 times higher than that used to eradicate planktonic bacteria. These observations strongly indicate that the concentration of silver in currently available wound dressings is much too low for treatment of chronic biofilm wounds. It is suggested that clinicians and manufacturers of the said wound dressings consider whether they are treating wounds primarily colonized either by biofilm‐forming or planktonic bacteria.