Ethanol Resistance Assay to Evaluate Biofilm Matrix Integrity

Source: Bucher, T., et al. Methodologies for Studying B. subtilis Biofilms as a Model for Characterizing Small Molecule Biofilm Inhibitors. J. Vis. Exp. (2016).This video demonstrates how biofilm matrix integrity influences bacterial resistance to ethanol by comparing colony-forming units in untreated and inhibitor-disrupted biofilms. Reduced CFUs in inhibitor-treated samples demonstrate that the extracellular matrix is essential for protecting biofilm-embedded cells from antimicrobial stress.