A synthetic polymer can clear biofilms

A new polymer removes biofilms—mats of microbes and their exuded substances—by mimicking a fluid oozed by barnacles ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c09311 ). The material could provide a new strategy for cleaning the places where bacteria build up on medical or industrial equipment. Before establishing a life on the rocks, barnacles clean their settling spot. “Mr. Clean is a barnacle,” says Dan Rittschof, a marine biologist at Duke University who wasn’t part of the new work. “We know that barnacles hate bacteria.” When juvenile barnacles are settling, part of their cleaning process involves exuding a fluid that is rich in lipids and phenolic compounds and removes biofilms. Biofilms allow bacteria to cling to surfaces, such as those of medical devices or parts of the body, and can make for difficult-to-treat infections. Many researchers try to kill the bacteria to get rid of the biofilm, according to study