Comparison of the antimicrobial effects of chlorine, silver ion, and tobramycin on biofilm

The systematic understanding of how various antimicrobial agents are involved in controlling biofilms is essential in order to establish an effective strategy for biofilm control, since many antimicrobial agents are effective against planktonic cells but are ineffective when they are used against the same bacteria growing in a biofilm state. Three different antimicrobial agents (chlorine, silver, and tobramycin) and three different methods for the measurement of membrane integrity (plate counts, the measurement of respiratory activity with 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride [CTC] staining, and BacLight Live/Dead staining) were used along with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and epifluorescence microscopy to examine the activities of the antimicrobials on biofilms in a comparative way. The three methods of determining the activities of the antimicrobials gave very different results for each antimicrobial agent. Among the three antimicrobials, tobramycin appeared to be the most effective in reducing the respiratory activity of biofilm cells, based upon CTC staining. In contrast, tobramycin-treated biofilm cells maintained their membrane integrity better than chlorine- or silver-treated ones, as evidenced by imaging by both CLSM and epifluorescence microscopy. Combined and sequential treatments with silver and tobramycin showed an enhanced antimicrobial efficiency of more than 200%, while the antimicrobial activity of either chlorine or tobramycin was antagonized when the agents were used in combination. This observation makes sense when the different oxidative reactivities of chlorine, silver, and tobramycin are considered.