Getting A Grip On Bacterial Slime

In 1684, a dry-goods merchant named Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered what he called "animalcules" in the tartar on his teeth. A thorough cleaning with vinegar killed only those "on the outside of the scurf," or dental plaque. Intrigued, Leeuwenhoek, the inventor of the microscope, took a closer look. In the "scurf," he found a sticky layer of bacteria that resisted the vinegar. It was one of the first glimpses of what are now called biofilms--bacterial "communities" that can appear almost anywhere, fouling machinery, clogging pipes, and contributing to many forms of human disease.

Researchers have found that biofilms play an important role in many medical conditions, such as kidney stones, chronic ear and urinary-tract infections, and gum disease. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta now believe biofilms are involved in 65% of all human bacterial infections. And roughly 5% percent of the patients who annually receive catheters and stents develop serious infections from biofilms growing on the devices.