Development of a coculture platform
Bacterial infections, especially those that are accompanied with biofilm formation and thus with a higher resistance to antibiotics, are a major threat to human health. The communication of bacteria with the immune cells of the host organism (Interkingdom crosstalk) via small signaling molecules (e. g. autoinducers) without a direct physical cell-to-cell contact seems to play an essential role for the host’s immune response but is far from being able to understand. Hence, the goal of this project is to develop a biofim-host cell hydrogel based co-culture model that mimics the situation in vivo.