Microbial Biofilm Dynamics: Contemporary Approaches, Models and Analytical Tools

This book explores the dynamics of microbial biofilms, examining their role in both oral and systemic diseases, emphasizing developmental models, and presenting various characterization and detection methodologies. Divided into three sections, the introductory section covers fundamental concepts, including microbial biofilm understanding, the critical role of the extracellular matrix, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, and the relevance of biofilms to the dental and medical fields. It also explores the development of novel antimicrobial therapeutic strategies for biofilm control, including diverse approaches like light-, nanoparticle-, peptide-, phage-, and phytochemical-based strategies, along with surface modification techniques. The second section navigates the diverse spectrum of biofilm complexity, introducing laboratory models such as microtiter plate formation, dynamic formation, active attachment, and in situ and in vivo formation models, thus providing a comprehensive understanding of experimental setups. The third section focuses on crucial analytical methods for biofilm studies, covering techniques for quantifying total biomass, cultivable cells, and metabolism. It further describes technical approaches to biofilm matrix analysis, Omics techniques, flow-cytometry analysis, imaging techniques, and the electrochemical detection of biofilms. An overview of machine learning approaches in biofilm research is also covered. This book is tailored for researchers, scientists, and students of microbiology.

Key Features:

• Provides an in-depth exploration of microbial biofilms, covering their dynamics, associations with oral and systemic diseases, and emphasizing developmental models
• Covers the role of the extracellular matrix, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, and the development of novel antimicrobial therapeutic strategies
• Explores a diverse spectrum of biofilm complexity through various laboratory models
• Focuses on crucial analytical methods, covering techniques for quantifying total biomass, cultivable cells, and metabolic activity
• Describes techniques for biofilm matrix analysis, Omics techniques, flow-cytometry analysis, imaging techniques, electrochemical detection, and the application of machine learning in biofilm research

Dr. Ashutosh Kumar Shukla is a Professor of Physics at Ewing Christian College, Prayagraj, a constituent college of the University of Allahabad, India. His research interest is primarily based on the applications of spectroscopy techniques, including ESR spectroscopy, in different fields. Dr. Shukla has successfully completed research projects funded by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, and presented his research findings at different international events. He has been awarded the bilateral exchange fellowship and visiting fellowship of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, in addition to research fellowships from the Council of Science and Technology, Lucknow, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. Dr. Shukla is on the review panel and editorial boards for international journals. With more than twenty-two years of teaching experience, he has to his credit journal publications, textbooks, and more than thirty edited volumes published by reputed international publishers.

Dr. Douglas Roberto Monteiro is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Diagnosis and Surgery, School of Dentistry, Araçatuba, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil. He completed his doctoral degree (2012) and post-doctoral studies (2016) from the same institution, having developed part of his doctoral project at the Department of Biological Engineering of the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal (2010–2011). He has published over 85 research articles and 35 book chapters. He has also recently been listed as one of the top 2% of scientists, according to Stanford University (Elsevier BV 2021–2024), USA. So far, 7 MSc and 3 Ph.D. theses have been completed under his guidance. His research areas include microbial biofilms of interest in the medical and dental fields, fungal infections caused by Candida species, alternative antimicrobial agents, and nanotechnology.