ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF BIOFILMS

Image: Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm aggregates, credit NBIC

Biofilms are central to our most important global challenges – from antimicrobial resistance and food safety to water security. They exert significant global economic, societal, and environmental impacts, both beneficial and negative, estimated at $5 trillion per annum.

Biofilms are made of numerous living micro-organisms, such as bacteria or fungi, evolving and growing as a collective. Microbial biofilms and communities represent the largest biomass activity centre on the planet, with an estimated 96% of microbes on Earth found in biofilms.

The impacts of biofilms are diverse and often costly, disruptive, or dangerous. They cause dental plaque and ship biofouling; they clog water and sewage pipes; they are responsible for salmonella contamination and are implicated in as much as 80% of all microbial infections in humans.

But some biofilms can be harnessed for constructive purposes. They can clean wastewater in sewage treatment plants; filter water for drinking; help remove microplastics from the ocean; and even generate electricity from organic waste.

Nurtured through the IfLS’s biofilms research theme, Southampton hosts the largest grouping of biofilm academics in the UK. In 2017 this led to the establishment of the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC).

NBIC’s mission is to drive global leadership at the forefront of research, training and innovation in biofilm technologies, by addressing the grand challenges important to the UK’s future prosperity. Led by the University of Southampton, in partnership with Liverpool, Nottingham and Edinburgh Universities, NBIC includes 63 associate research institutions and more than 200 companies, driving the translation of biofilm research into impactful innovations for society.

NBIC is an Innovation Knowledge Centre (IKC) jointly funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK.

Read more about NBIC at biofilms.ac.uk