Minimum information guideline for spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods to assess biofilm formation in microplates

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioflm.2019.100010.The lack of reproducibility of published studies is one of the major issues facing the scientific community, and the field of biofilm microbiology has been no exception. One effective strategy against this multifaceted problem is the use of minimum information guidelines. This strategy provides a guide for authors and reviewers on the necessary information that a manuscript should include for the experiments in a study to be clearly interpreted and independently reproduced. As a result of several discussions between international groups working in the area of biofilms, we present a guideline for the spectrophotometric and fluorometric assessment of biofilm formation in microplates. This guideline has been divided into 5 main sections, each presenting a comprehensive set of recommendations. The intention of the minimum information guideline is to improve the quality of scientific communication that will augment interlaboratory reproducibility in biofilm microplate assays.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska – Curie grant agreement No 722467, as part of the Print-Aid consortium. The information and views set out in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. This work received additional financial support by: project UID/EQU/00511/2019 - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – LEPABE funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); Project “LEPABE-2-ECO-INNOVATION” – NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000005, funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The role of standards in biofilm research and industry innovation

Biofilms are widely recognised as a contributing factor in significant problems currently facing human health and industry. The following paper summarises a round table forum held at the 2021 International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Symposium which discussed the potential role of standards in biofilm research and industry innovation. Standards and other forms of best-practice guidance are reviewed in an academic research context as well as in relation to industry impacts and product development. The understanding of fundamental aspects of biofilms is rapidly evolving, driven in part by new analytical methods. However, the complex and multidisciplinary nature of biofilm-associated problems and typically limited training available for industry personnel tackling the associated issues often reduces the ability to provide best-practice solutions. As such it is argued that more effort needs to be made by both academia and industry experts to provide consensus and associated documentation on standard test methods or guidance documents related to studying and combating biofilms

Minimum information guideline for spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods to assess biofilm formation in microplates

The lack of reproducibility of published studies is one of the major issues facing the scientific community, and the field of biofilm microbiology has been no exception. One effective strategy against this multifaceted problem is the use of minimum information guidelines. This strategy provides a guide for authors and reviewers on the necessary information that a manuscript should include for the experiments in a study to be clearly interpreted and independently reproduced. As a result of several discussions between international groups working in the area of biofilms, we present a guideline for the spectrophotometric and fluorometric assessment of biofilm formation in microplates. This guideline has been divided into 5 main sections, each presenting a comprehensive set of recommendations. The intention of the minimum information guideline is to improve the quality of scientific communication that will augment interlaboratory reproducibility in biofilm microplate assays.Peer reviewe