Question: Is there a medicine that can break down the proteins and carbohydrates to get at the bacteria and if there is what is it called

Katie Fala answered on 13 Nov 2019:

Nice question jump42can! A lot of our ideas to tackle problematic biofilms try to get rid of all those polymers, the proteins and carbs and extracellular DNA that the bacteria make to protect themselves as without it they are much more susceptible to being cleaned away, or being killed by antibiotics, or being scavenged by our bodies immune cells. So yes, a lot of work has been done figuring out what is the composition and what enzymes we can use to break it down. Enzymes are proteins that can speed up reactions like the breakdown of proteins and carbs and DNA. The problem is that it seems that a biofilm will differ quite substantially to the next based on which bacterial strains are living inside, and where the biofilm is, so it is very difficult to tailor your enzyme cocktail so it will actually work. It is quite likely that the most successful approach will combine enzymes with other things, like the quorum quenching molecules I am studying to stop bacteria from talking with one another, and antimicrobials or antibiotics, possibly with other technologies like sonication or plasma. Let me know if you have any other questions!