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When bacteria team up in sticky, drug-resistant communities called biofilms, they can be nearly impossible to eradicate using conventional antibiotics. Commonly found on medical devices such as catheters, biofilms can cause gingivitis and chronic ear infections. They can also cause environmental and industrial problems, clogging up water pipes.

Boston University biomedical engineers have designed a new, highly effective means of dispersing and killing the bacteria living in biofilms. Led by synthetic biologist James Collins, the team has engineered viruses that attack biofilms on two fronts: by killing the bacteria that live in them, and by dissolving the carbohydrates that hold them together. If such bacteria-attacking viruses are proved safe for industrial and clinical use, says Collins, researchers could develop stocks of different kinds of viruses, each tailored to attack a different kind of biofilm.

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