Analysis of bacterial biofilms using NMR-based metabolomics

Bo Zhang, Robert Powers

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

85 Scopus citations

Abstract

Infectious diseases can be difficult to cure, especially if the pathogen forms a biofilm. After decades of extensive research into the morphology, physiology and genomics of biofilm formation, attention has recently been directed toward the analysis of the cellular metabolome in order to understand the transformation of a planktonic cell to a biofilm. Metabolomics can play an invaluable role in enhancing our understanding of the underlying biological processes related to the structure, formation and antibiotic resistance of biofilms. A systematic view of metabolic pathways or processes responsible for regulating this 'social structure of microorganisms may provide critical insights into biofilm-related drug resistance and lead to novel treatments. This review will discuss the development of NMR-based metabolomics as a technology to study medically relevant biofilms. Recent advancements from case studies reviewed in this manuscript have shown the potential of metabolomics to shed light on numerous biological problems related to biofilms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1273-1306
Number of pages34
JournalFuture Medicinal Chemistry
Volume4
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Medicine
  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery

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