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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 1999, p. 1771-1776, Vol. 37, No. 6
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The Calgary Biofilm Device: New Technology for Rapid Determination of Antibiotic Susceptibilities of Bacterial Biofilms

H. Ceri,1,2,3,* M. E. Olson,1,2,3 C. Stremick,1 R. R. Read,1,3 D. Morck,1,2 and A. Buret1,2

Biofilm Research Group,1 Biological Sciences,2 and Microbiology & Infectious Diseases,3 University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4

Received 25 August 1998/Returned for modification 21 December 1998/Accepted 8 March 1999

Determination of the MIC, based on the activities of antibiotics against planktonic bacteria, is the standard assay for antibiotic susceptibility testing. Adherent bacterial populations (biofilms) present with an innate lack of antibiotic susceptibility not seen in the same bacteria grown as planktonic populations. The Calgary Biofilm Device (CBD) is described as a new technology for the rapid and reproducible assay of biofilm susceptibilities to antibiotics. The CBD produces 96 equivalent biofilms for the assay of antibiotic susceptibilities by the standard 96-well technology. Biofilm formation was followed by quantitative microbiology and scanning electron microscopy. Susceptibility to a standard group of antibiotics was determined for National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) reference strains: Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. Growth curves demonstrated that biofilms of a predetermined size could be formed on the CBD at specific time points and, furthermore, that no significant difference (P > 0.1) was seen between biofilms formed on each of the 96 pegs. The antibiotic susceptibilities for planktonic populations obtained by the NCCLS method or from the CBD were similar. Minimal biofilm eradication concentrations, derived by using the CBD, demonstrated that for biofilms of the same organisms, 100 to 1,000 times the concentration of a certain antibiotic were often required for the antibiotic to be effective, while other antibiotics were found to be effective at the MICs. The CBD offers a new technology for the rational selection of antibiotics effective against microbial biofilms and for the screening of new effective antibiotic compounds.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. Phone: (403) 220-6960. Fax: (403) 289-9311. E-mail: ceri{at}acs.ucalgary.ca.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 1999, p. 1771-1776, Vol. 37, No. 6
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 1999 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.