Biofilms News and Research

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Fluxion Biosciences announces launch of new BioFlux 1000Z system for live cell imaging

Fluxion Biosciences, Inc. announced that the new BioFlux 1000Z system for live cell imaging will be launched at the 50th American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting to be held December 11-15, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. The BioFlux 1000Z is the latest addition to the BioFlux product family of instruments for cellular analysis under controlled shear flow.

From Fluxion Biosciences 7 Dec 2010

Interference with biofilm detachment mechanisms may prevent biofilm-associated infections

Patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities can develop infections as a result of contamination of indwelling medical devices such as catheters with bacteria that are normal inhabitants of the skin of the patient or health care personnel. The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major cause of such infections.

7 Dec 2010

Scientists identify protein that disseminates biofilm-associated infection

What:Scientists from the National Institutes of Health have discovered how catheter-related bacterial infection develops and disseminates to become a potentially life-threatening condition. The study, which included research on Staphylococcus epidermidis in mice implanted with catheters, could have important implications for understanding many types of bacterial biofilm infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).

7 Dec 2010

Selenium secures NIH grant to apply patented antimicrobial technology for ear infections

Selenium, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company focused on unique solutions to meet antimicrobial coating and therapeutic needs, has been awarded a research grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, one of the National Institutes of Health. With the $155,387 NIH grant the company will apply its proprietary antimicrobial technology to researching the inhibition of biofilms on tympanostomy tubes.

18 Nov 2010

UMass, PolyMedix receive Phase 2 STTR contract to conduct test on antimicrobial compounds

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass), have received a Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract in the amount of $750,000.

17 Nov 2010

Stratatech receives SBIR grant to develop anti-infective living human skin substitute

Stratatech Corp., a privately-held regenerative medicine company, today announced that it has been awarded a $3.5 million Fast-Track SBIR grant to expand the development of its anti-infective living human skin substitute.

17 Nov 2010

MqsA and MqsR protein complex can disrupt drug-resistant biofilm formation

When a foreign object such as a catheter enters the body, bacteria may not only invade it but also organize into a slick coating - a biofilm - that is highly resistant to antibiotics. Like sophisticated organized crime rings, biofilms cannot be defeated by a basic approach of conventional means. Instead doctors and drug developers need sophisticated new intelligence that reveals the key players in the network and how they operate. New research led by biologists at Brown University provides exactly that dossier on some key proteins in the iconic bacterium E. coli.

11 Nov 2010

PolyMedix announces publication of defensin-mimetic compounds in Molecular Oral Microbiology

PolyMedix, Inc. an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, announced that data from two separate pre-clinical research studies were published in the December issue of Molecular Oral Microbiology.

10 Nov 2010

Highlights of Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI Meeting

Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine.

21 Oct 2010

Specialized bacterial filaments shown to conduct electricity

Some bacteria grow electrical hair that lets them link up in big biological circuits, according to a University of Southern California biophysicist and his collaborators.

12 Oct 2010

Researchers find new surface adaptation mechanism of biofilm-forming pathogen

Many drug-resistant infections are the result of bacterial biofilms, structured aggregates of bacteria that live on surfaces and that are extremely resistant to environmental stresses. These biofilms impact human health in many ways - cystic fibrosis, for example, is a disease in which patients die from airway bacterial biofilm infections that are invulnerable to even the most potent antibiotics.

11 Oct 2010

NC State receives $1.8M defense grant to test molecule efficacy against antibiotic-resistant infections

A new $1.8 million grant from the Department of Defense will allow North Carolina State University researchers to work with the Walter Reed Institute of Research to further test the effectiveness of molecules that have shown great promise in combating antibiotic-resistant infections.

23 Sep 2010

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center research team wins 2010 BioFlux Innovation Award

Fluxion Biosciences, Inc. announced today that a research team from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has won the 2010 BioFlux Innovation Award competition. Laura Sycuro, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research fellow in the lab of David Fredricks, M.D., authored the winning submission which focuses on screening and characterizing bacterial strains involved in biofilm-related infections known to affect women's reproductive health.

From Fluxion Biosciences 17 Sep 2010

Cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections: Study

Scientists reported new evidence on the effectiveness of that old folk remedy cranberry juice for urinary tract infections at the ACS' 240th National Meeting. "A number of controlled clinical trials these are carefully designed and conducted scientific studies done in humans have concluded that cranberry juice really is effective for preventing urinary tract infections," said Terri Anne Camesano, Ph.D., who led the study.

16 Sep 2010

Plaque-causing bacteria increases risk of heart attack

Plaque-causing bacteria can jailbreak from the mouth into the bloodstream and increase your risk of heart attack says a scientist at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham.

6 Sep 2010

WPI researchers: Cranberry juice cocktail blocks strain of S. aureus

Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from beginning the process of infection.

2 Sep 2010

'Molecular Diagnostics Europe' conference debuts at BIOTECHNICA 2010

BIOTECHNICA, Europe's Leading Exhibition for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, is broadening its portfolio to include a new conference and special display on molecular diagnostics. Produced by the Cambridge Healthtech Institute, a leading organizer of biomedical conferences in the United States, the "Molecular Diagnostics Europe" (MDxEU) conference is making its debut this year. The main focus will be on new methods for molecular diagnostics, particularly with regard to cancer and infectious diseases.

27 Aug 2010

Communication between bacterial species promotes resistance to antibiotics: Study

Ear infections caused by more than one species of bacteria could be more persistent and antibiotic-resistant because one pathogen may be communicating with the other, encouraging it to bolster its defenses. Interrupting or removing that communication could be key to curing these infections. Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center publish their findings today in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

7 Jul 2010

Bacterin International completes reverse merger transaction

Bacterin International, Inc., a Nevada company, today announced that it has completed a reverse merger transaction with Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. f/k/a K-Kitz, in which the Company caused its wholly-owned subsidiary to be merged with and into Bacterin, with Bacterin as the surviving company.

1 Jul 2010

Twelve residents receive one-year fellowship grant to study medical dermatology

Twelve dermatology residents from leading medical schools around the country each received a $40,000, one-year fellowship grant to study medical dermatology. The fellowships, awarded by the National Psoriasis Foundation, provide support to eligible institutions to develop and enhance opportunities for physicians training for careers in medical dermatology.