A group from Institut Pasteur Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 6047, Genetics of Biofilms laboratory, Paris, France, etc. has reported about non-biocidal surface-active polysaccharides to prevent the initial adhesion and aggregation of bacterial pathogens.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10156666/
Bacterial biofilms are widespread surface-attached or aggregated bacteria that can negatively impact human activities when developing on medical or industrial surfaces. Due to their high tolerance to antibiotics, biofilms are difficult to eradicate, and the prevention of biofilm-associated infections is a major health and economic issue. Strategies to prevent biofilm formation often target the initial steps of bacterial adhesion using surfaces coated by biocidal agents such as broad-spectrum antibiotics or heavy metals5. These biocidal approaches are limited by the rapid accumulation of dead bacteria and organic debris, which reduces the activity of the coated surfaces toward new incoming cells.
Here, the antibiofilm activity of a panel of 31 purified Gram+ or Gram bacterial capsular polysaccharides of known composition and structure was investigated. Among those, nine new non-biocidal polysaccharides were found, which inhibite biofilm formation by prototypical nosocomial pathogens, including E. coli and S. aureus.
Through the detailed anayses for these polysaccharides, it was found that the combination of a loose structure (i.e. a large permeability to flow due to a large number of intraparticle voids) and a high density of carried electrostatic charges is critical for polysaccharides to exhibit antibiofilm activity.