Atividade da clorexidina sobre biofilmes microbianos

Abstract

Biofilms are biological communities with a high degree of organization in which microorganisms are adhered to a surface. Microorganisms, when in biofilm, become a target of concern in the clinical field due to the low response to antimicrobial treatments and ease of colonization of surfaces such as implants, catheters and surgical instruments. Several studies have shown that antimicrobial and biocides have their effectiveness decreased against biofilms. Chlorhexidine is a powerful antiseptic widely used in hospitals especially applied in hand antisepsis, disinfection of environments, and sterilization of surgical instruments used in invasive procedures. Thus, the present study aimed to determine whether bacterial and fungal biofilms are able to resist the antimicrobial action of chlorhexidine. Disk diffusion and susceptibility tests were performed according to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), 2013. To determine the Biofilm Inhibition Concentration (BIC), chlorhexidine was tested at concentrations of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and at higher concentrations when necessary. The plates were developed with a solution of 0.1% crystal violet and the optical density (OD) was obtained at 570 nm. Results showed that chlorhexidine has excellent antimicrobial activity against most organisms tested in its free form; however, it was less effective against biofilms of Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus resistant to Methicillin (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, developed in isolation for each species. Thus, chlorhexidine is likely to have its antimicrobial activity decreased when exposed to microorganisms in biofilms. This probably occurs due to resistance mechanisms attributed to the biofilm structure exopolysaccharide matrix, quorum sensing (QS), genetic diversity and to the inappropriate use of this biocide.