8. Tissue Colonization in Biomaterial-Associated Infection

Biomedical devices made of biomaterials predispose to infection as they provide surfaces for biofilm formation by microorganisms. Moreover, their presence in host tissue also compromises the local host immune response, allowing bacteria to persist in the vicinity of medical devices to cause infection. Biofilm formation, particularly by staphylococci, has been described in depth in Chaps.​ 2 and Chaps.​ 6. This chapter therefore focuses on the colonization of peri-biomaterial tissue and host cells by bacteria, particularly staphylococci, on the characteristics of staphylococci residing intracellularly, the efficacy of antibiotics against intracellular staphylococci, and the pathogenic process leading to peri-implant tissue ­colonization and how immune modulation can contribute to prevent this.