Biofilms: Novel Strategies Based on Antimicrobial Peptides

The problem of drug resistance is very worrying and ever increasing. Resistance is due not
only to the reckless use of antibiotics but also to the fact that pathogens are able to adapt to different
conditions and develop self-defense mechanisms such as living in biofilms; altogether these issues
make the search for alternative drugs a real challenge. Antimicrobial peptides appear as promising
alternatives but they have disadvantages that do not make them easily applicable in the medical
field; thus many researches look for solutions to overcome the disadvantages and ensure that the
advantages can be exploited. This review describes the biofilm characteristics and identifies the
key features that antimicrobial peptides should have. Recalcitrant bacterial infections caused by the
most obstinate bacterial species should be treated with a strategy to combine conventional peptides
functionalized with nano-tools. This approach could effectively disrupt high density infections
caused by biofilms. Moreover, the importance of using in vivo non mammalian models for biofilm
studies is described. In particular, here we analyze the use of amphibians as a model to substitute the
rodent model.