Bacterial adhesion: Seen any good biofilms lately?

INTRODUCTION..................................................155 WHAT IS A BIOFILM?........................................ 156 BIOFILMS ARE UNIVERSAL............................. 156 THE BIOFILM GLYCOCALYX: A BACTERIAL FORCE FIELD...................................................................... 156 BIOFILM DIVERSITY............................................ 156 PROCESS OF BACTERIAL ADHESION................ 156 Docking: Primary Bacterial Adhesion...................... 157 Surface Conditioning.............................................. 157 Locking: Secondary Bacterial Adhesion................. 158 BIOFILM MATURATION.................................... 158 BIOFILM RESISTANCE TO ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS.............................................................. 158 Biofilm as a Molecular Filter.................................................................... 158 Increased Resistance Reflects Altered Growth Rates................................................................... 159 Does the Microenvironment Affect Antimicrobial Activity?............................................................ 160 BIOFILM ARCHITECTURE............................. 160 Scanning the Surface......................................... 160 Three-Dimensional Perspective of Biofilms...... 160 PROTOTYPICAL BIOFILMS......................... 160 THE CONS BIOFILM FESTIVAL.................. 161 What Makes S. epidermidis Stick?................... 161 Secondary Adhesion of S. epidermidis and PIA................................................................. 161 Biofilm Maturation of S. epidermidis and the Slime Layer............................................................. 162 THE PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA MODEL.. 162 Pseudomonas Adhesion: Motility and the Twitch....162 Pseudomonas Biofilm Maturation..................... 163 PARTING OBSERVATIONS......................... 163 REFERENCES................................................ 164.