Advanced strategies for combating bacterial biofilms

Biofilms are communities of microorganisms that are formed on and attached to living or nonliving surfaces and are surrounded by an extracellular polymeric material. Biofilm formation enjoys several advantages over the pathogens in the colonization process of medical devices and patients' organs. Unlike planktonic cells, biofilms have high intrinsic resistance to antibiotics and sanitizers, and overcoming them is a significant problematic challenge in the medical and food industries. There are no approved treatments to specifically target biofilms. Thus, it is required to study and present innovative and effective methods to combat a bacterial biofilm. In this review, several strategies have been discussed for combating bacterial biofilms to improve healthcare, food safety, and industrial process. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc