Medical Biofilms and their Control

My expanding interest in biomedical applications of my research has led me to also work in the area of pathogenic biofilm formation on medical implant devices.  In this area my students are linking my expertise with anthropogenic chelating agents with my expertise in biofilms and pathogenic organisms.  Work  in this area has focused on the utilization of EDTA or combined EDTA/antibiotics for the prevention and/or treatment of biofilm infections on permanent joint implants. The target organism is Staphylococcus epidermidis. Our work has included (1) evaluation of the potential synergistic effect of EDTA and vanomycin against planktonic organisms, (2) evaluation of the potential for EDTA to prevent initial biofilm formation on stainless steel, (3) evaluation of the potential for EDTA and EDTA/vanomycin to remove biofilms formed on stainless steel, and (4) consideration of the utilization of Raman spectroscopy to identify and quantify extracellular polymeric materials in biofilms formed in the presence and absence of EDTA and/or vancomycin. 

Kim, H-J, Dorn, V.L., VanBriesen, J.M., “The efficacy of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) against biofilm bacteria,” Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting, Fall 2004. 

Kim, H-J, VanBriesen,J.M., "EDTA and biofilms," presented at the Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Research Symposium "Meeting of the Minds," May 2004.