Biosurfactants as Antibiofilm Agents for Medical Devices: Mechanisms, Evidence and Integration into Infection Prevention and Control

The formation of biofilms in medical devices such as urinary tract catheters, and surgical implants create a danger to patient safety and undermines both infection prevention and infection control. They reduce the effectiveness of standard antibiotics and disinfectants, which contributes to healthcare-associated infections and increases the economic burden of device failures and their maintenance. This M.Tech research direction aims to assess the viability of biosurfactants (BSs) as novel antibiofilm agents in this field. The study will explore their preventive, disruptive, and synergistic effects on medical, devices, and healthcare surfaces. The candidate will undertake a review of the available literature on antibiofilm activity of glycosidic lipids (e.g., rhamnolipids, sophorolipids) and lipopeptides

(e.g., surfactin), and use different in vitro systems, such as static, flow, and microfluidic systems of a clinically relevant model of silicone and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces. These surfaces will be used in combination with the aforementioned antibiofilm agents on key pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus spp., and Candida spp.) The study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of BS on the reduction of microbial adhesion, and the delay of early biofilm formation, to increase patient safey and improve infection control measures.

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