Biofilm-associated infections on biomedical devices represent a major clinical challenge due to their high tolerance to antimicrobial treatments and their association with chronic and recurrent infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a clinically relevant biofilm-forming pathogen, particularly on titanium-based implants used in medical and dental applications.In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the antibiofilm activity of bacteriophages (phages) against P. aeruginosa biofilms on titanium by assessing reductions in viable cell counts and biofilm biomass. The phages were tested both for their ability to eradicate mature biofilms and to prevent the formation of new ones. Phage treatment resulted in a marked reduction of biofilm biomass and viable cells(reductions exceeding 90%). . For the ATCC strain, reduction efficiencies ranged from 50.53% to 99.78%, while for the clinical isolate, reductions varied from 0.01% to 99.94%. Phages PA4 and PA5 showed the highest and most consistent activity, achieving reductions above 99%. Prophylactic application effectively inhibited biofilm formation. No clear dose–response relationship was observed, and efficacy varied depending on strain, phage, and infection conditions. Phages show strong potential as antibiofilm agents on titanium surfaces. The observed variability highlights the complexity of phage–biofilm interactions and supports further in vivo studies and the development of tailored phage-based strategies for device-associated infections.
Sousa et al. (Wed,) studied this question.