We are developing biofilm characterization techniques to reveal the consequences of antimicrobial peptide treatment on the composition of hypermucoviscous biofilms and characterize biofilm formation of differently capsulated K. pneumoniae strains under sheer flow conditions.

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One technique currently being used is confocal microscopy analysis of biofilms using fluorescent labeled lectins to visualize the polysaccharides within biofilms. This will be used to reveal the changes in the polysaccharide content of the biofilm matrix following treatment with antimicrobial peptides hypothesized to interact with extracellular polysaccharides within the biofilm matrix.