Fight Fire with Fire: Potential Application of Microbe-Derived Products in the Battle Against Biofilms in Medical, Industrial and Environmental Settings

Biofilms pose significant challenges across medical, industrial, and environmental settings, impacting health, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Their resilience is due to dense assemblies, protective matrices, and complex communication. Inspired by the "divide et impera" strategy, this issue explores using microbe-derived products against detrimental biofilms. Examples are the use of, among others, bacteriocins, siderophores, quorum quenching, and pH modulation to disrupt biofilms and reduce pathogen viability. This interdisciplinary call invites also research on innovative strategies to combat biofilms, aiming to advance our understanding and application of microbial products, such as bacterial cellulose for antimicrobial delivery. Contributions from various fields are encouraged to address the multifaceted challenges biofilms present and explore new frontiers in biofilm management.

This Special Issue welcomes contributions that improve our understanding of the products and processes of bacterial biofilms that may be useful in fighting against harmful biofilms responsible for adverse effects in medical, industrial, and environmental settings.

Potential areas of interest may include, but are not limited to:
● Secretome compounds able to act against biofilms.
● Quorum Sensing routs quenched by microbial inhibitors.
● Polymers produced by microbes that can be applied to create antimicrobial countermeasures.
● Electromagnetic-based communication between bacterial cells within biofilms.
● Metabolomic profiling and metabolic changes associated with biofilm formation.
● Bacteriophages in bacteria biofilm eradication.
● Immunometabolism in biofilm infections.

For authors, please review the journal's information regarding Author Guidelines and Article Processing Charges, or direct any questions to the Editorial Office: abp@frontierspartnerships.org.

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Biofilm, Anti-Biofilm, Cell Communication, Secretome, Microbial Products