Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilm susceptibility in response to increased level of shear stresses and flow agitation

The appearance of highly resistance bacterial strains or ldquosuper bugsrdquo is a major challenge in both the community and hospital environment. Manipulating laboratory based devices in order to generate the correct environmental conditions to study these biofilms requires a through comprehension of the hydrodynamics surrounding the biofilm. In this study, MBECtrade biomedical devices were used to study biofilm antibiotic response and susceptibility at different rotational speeds of an orbital shaker. The fluid motion was modeled with higher shear stresses corresponding to higher rotational speeds which result in an increased susceptibility of the biofilm to antimicrobial agent.