Bacterial biofilms: a review of current research.

Biofilms provide bacterial cells with a protective environment that allows for survival from antibiotics and host defense mechanisms. In order to understand how to control biofilms, it is important to understand the complexity of the biofilm system. This is in overview of four areas of current biofilm research: biofilm resistance to antimicrobials and host defense mechanisms, the complexity of biofilm structure, the possible existence of a biofilm phenotype, and the ramifications of cell cell communication within the biofilm.