A novel microfluidic wound model for testing antimicrobial agents against Staphylococcus pseudintermedius biofilms

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Microbiology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Current methods for testing veterinary surgical site infection treatments are costly and time-consuming.
• Microfluidic devices offer a more cost-effective and space-saving alternative for modeling chronic wounds.
• This study investigates a novel microfluidic model for assessing antimicrobial therapies against wound pathogens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the applicability of a new microfluidic model for evaluating antimicrobial treatments.
• To test the efficacy of DispersinB against biofilms of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP).

Main Methods:

• Development of a microfluidic device coated with collagen and maintained at body temperature.
• Testing DispersinB activity against MRSP biofilms in the microfluidic model.
• Comparison of results with traditional microtitre plate assays.

Main Results:

• The microfluidic model was successfully developed to study antimicrobial effects on MRSP biofilms.
• DispersinB-Gentamycin efficacy against MRSP biofilms differed between the microfluidic model and microtitre plates.
• DispersinB inhibited biofilm growth in microtitre plates, with an inverse relationship between concentration and biofilm amount.

Conclusions:

• The microfluidic model shows potential for studying chronic wound infections.
• The model's results, where organisms were more recalcitrant to antimicrobials, may better reflect in vivo conditions.
• Further research is needed to optimize the model and fully understand DispersinB's activity in different conditions.