A partial differential equation model for antimicrobial treatment of a chronic wound biofilm #

Sandeep Shirgill, Sara Jabbari, John Ward, Gowsihan Poologasundarampillai, Sarah Kuehne

14:50 Tuesday in 3Q68.

Part of the Biofilms and pattern formation session.

Abstract #

Chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, are a drain on global health services and remain a major area of unmet clinical need. Chronic wounds are characterised by a bacterial biofilm (densely aggregated colonies of bacteria encased by a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)), which hinders innate immune response and can prevent wound healing. Bioactive glass (BG) fibres doped with antimicrobial metal ions can offer a promising treatment for chronic wound infections. From in vitro experimental studies, it has been found that silver and copper-doped BG fibres work synergistically to eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms, where P. aeruginosa is one of the most common bacterial species found in chronic wound infections. Specifically, the copper released by the BG fibres during dissolution reduces the EPS within the biofilm making the bacteria more susceptible to treatment by the released silver.

Here, a partial differential equation model for biofilm treatment is investigated, where there is a particular focus on how EPS affects treatment success and how targeted EPS treatment can make bacteria within the biofilm more vulnerable to antimicrobial action. From initial solutions, it was found that EPS production notably reduced BG fibre treatment efficacy, therefore corroborating that targeting EPS during treatment is crucial for eradicating biofilm infections. Furthermore, the model is utilised to look at the sensitivity of parameters relating to the BG fibre properties so that BG fibre production can be optimised to increase the likelihood of successful treatment.