Biofilm-Mediated Diseases of the Eye

Abstract

Ophthalmology is a rapidly growing discipline of medicine with newer ocular implants and prostheses and improvements over the older ones being constantly introduced to reduce visual morbidity. These implants and devices are an easy target for biofilm formation and predispose to various ocular infections, which at times may lead to vision-threatening complications. One of the most feared complications in ophthalmology is postoperative endophthalmitis with majority of them occurring after cataract surgeries caused by the formation of biofilm over the intraocular lenses. Similar biofilms have been found over the contact lenses, lacrimal devices, ophthalmic implants, scleral plugs, and glaucoma drainage devices, leading to infections and their subsequent failures. Biofilms also disrupt the normal physiology of the eye and cause dry eye disease. Graft rejections after penetrating keratoplasty have commonly been attributed to the formation of biofilms leading to crystalline keratopathy. Current interventions aim at prevention of biofilm formation on the devices and implants by introducing antimicrobial-coated devices and by using biomaterials which have a lesser tendency of formation of biofilm. Prevention of biofilm formation in ophthalmology is an ongoing research with newer modalities being introduced consistently for the same.