Principles of Materials and Biofilms for Penile Prosthesis, Artificial Urinary Sphincter, and Slings: An Overview
摘要
Biofilms are defined as complex microbial communities residing in extracellular polymeric substances, specifically in an exopolysaccharide matrix that adheres to a surface. Infectious biofilm formation on biomaterials is a multi-stage sequential process. Biofilms constitute a major problem in treating bacterial infections and are responsible for persistence and resistance of infections. In clinical settings, biofilms are the main cause of chronic, nosocomial, and medical device-related infections. They are associated with increased resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics and, therefore, make the use of antibiotics alone ineffective for the treatment of synthetic device-related and organic tissue-related infections. This can raise a serious threat to global health issues. Therefore, early detection of infectious biofilms and finding new and alternative therapeutic strategies are paramount to tackle biofilm-associated infections. This chapter presents an overview on bacterial biofilm formation, prevalence and infection of implantable devices, the challenges and impact of biofilms especially in urologic prostheses, and current strategies to reduce biofilms and treat them.