However, work in the 1970s revealed that biofilms play a major role in human disease , allowing bacteria to adhere to a variety of tissues and evade host defenses. For example, a biofilm of organisms may shield bacterial cells from antibiotics and from the host's own immune response. Individual Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells can be opsonized and killed in vitro, however, opsonizing antibodies in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients are blocked by mucoid polysaccharides, and are unable to reach their target. The continued biofilm presence also means that recurrent infections are likely when pieces of the biofilm detach later. Biofilms are also implicated in contact lens and catheter-associated diseases.
Bacteria behave differently as individuals than as part of a community.
Some bacteria are able to sense high populations of their species and to respond by migrating towards the aggregate. Understanding signaling within bacterial populations and communities could lead to new approaches for therapy that target specific disease causing organisms within a host. Other Applications of Biofilms Other positive applications of biofilms include formation of alginates, which are used as wound dressings, hair products, and in ice cream. Researchers find new way to disrupt resistant colony-forming microbes. Costerton JW et al.