Ionic liquids (ILs) are remarkable chemical compounds with applications in many areas of modern science. They are increasingly recognized as promising compounds to fight microorganisms in both planktonic and biofilm states, contributing to reinvent the antimicrobial pipeline. Biofilm-related infections are particularly challenging given that the scientific community has not yet identified a reliable control strategy. Understanding of the action of ILs in biofilm control is lacking. However, given the highly tunable nature and exceptional properties of ILs, they are excellent candidates for biofilm control. Here, we review the major advances in, and challenges to, the use of ILs for effective biofilm control.Base Funding - UIDB/00511/2020 of LEPABE, UIDB/00081/2020 of CIQUP, and UIDB/04469/2020 of CEB funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); Project Biocide_for_Biofilm - PTDC/BII-BTI/30219/2017 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030219, ABFISH – PTDC/ASP-PES/28397/2017 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028397, funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES, and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norteinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
