High-Speed Imaging of Ultrasound-Mediated Bacterial Biofilm Disruption

摘要

Bacterial biofilms are common roots of persistent infections. Their structure provides for increased resistance against anti-microbial agents, making them difficult to treat and eradicate. The introduction of ultrasound and mi-crobubble provides the prospect of non-invasive treatment of bacterial biofilms. We adopt the use of a high-speed imaging and optical trapping setup to study the physical mechanisms of ultrasound-mediated microbubble disruption of bacterial biofilms. It was found that the bacterial biofilms could be effectively disrupted due to cavitation collapse of a neighbouring microbubble. However, the efficacy of biofilm disruption depends on several parameters such as stand-off distance and ultrasound parameters.