Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41711436›Full record

ArticleJournal of microbiology & biology education2026

A simple alginate bead biofilm model for undergraduate teaching of antimicrobial tolerance.

Lúcia Chaves Simões, Mariana Silva Simões, Marta Esteves, Manuel Simões

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of microbiology & biology education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Lúcia Chaves SimõesDepartment of Biology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-4893-1985
Mariana Silva SimõesUniversidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal.
Marta EstevesUniversity of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.
Manuel SimõesLEPABE, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-3355-4398

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Biofilms play a crucial role in medical, industrial, and environmental microbiology, yet their structural complexity often makes them challenging to study in undergraduate teaching laboratories. We present a simple, fast, and effective method for exploring bacterial behavior within an artificial biofilm model. Through a hands-on activity, bacteria are entrapped in calcium alginate beads to simulate biofilm conditions and then exposed to an antimicrobial. Their viability is compared to that of the same bacteria in the planktonic state. This classroom approach introduces students to the impact of living in a sessile state on bacterial tolerance to antimicrobials, offering valuable insights into how the biofilm structure contributes to antimicrobial tolerance.

Indexed as

alginate beadsantimicrobial resistanceartificial biofilm modelbiofilm controlhands-on learning

Identifiers

PMID41711436
PMCPMC13130988

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.