MBEC Versus MBIC: the Lack of Differentiation between Biofilm Reducing and Inhibitory Effects as a Current Problem in Biofilm Methodology

Table 1 Interpretation of the anti-biofilm effect size based on different scenarios of starting viable cell numbers before treatment

	At measured endpoint	Scenario A	Scenario B	Scenario C	Scenario D
	At measured endpoint	Pre-antimicrobial exposure	Pre- antimicrobial exposure	Pre- antimicrobial exposure	Pre- antimicrobial exposure
Untreated	10⁸ CFU/mL	10⁵ CFU/mL	10⁷ CFU/mL	10⁸ CFU/mL	10⁹ CFU/mL
Treated	10⁵ CFU/mL	10⁵ CFU/mL	10⁷ CFU/mL	10⁸ CFU/mL	10⁹ CFU/mL
Interpretation	3 log₁₀ biofilm reduction	3 log₁₀ inhibition of biofilm growth (MBIC)	2 log₁₀ biofilm reduction	3 log₁₀ biofilm reduction (MBEC or BBC)	3 log₁₀ biofilm reduction (MBEC or BBC)

MBIC Minimal biofilm inhibitory concentration, MBEC Minimal biofilm eradication concentration, BBC Biofilm bactericidal concentration

ISSN: 1480-9222