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World J Exp Med. Jun 20, 2026; 16(2): 119306
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i2.119306
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i2.119306
Detection of intracellular bacterial communities and biofilms in urinary tract infections with Escherichia coli using staining protocols
Swathi Pandey, Emmanuel Bhaskar, Department of General Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600116, Tamil Nadu, India
Arul Senghor Kadalangudi Aravaanan, Department of Biochemistry, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattangulathur, Chennai 603203, Tamil Nadu, India
Santhi Silambanan, Department of Biochemistry, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600116, Tamil Nadu, India
Co-corresponding authors: Emmanuel Bhaskar and Santhi Silambanan.
Author contributions: Swathi P, Bhaskar E, Aravaanan ASK, and Silambanan S designed the research study, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript; Swathi P and Silambanan S contributed analytic tools; Bhaskar E and Silambanan S have played important and indispensable roles in the manuscript preparation as the co-corresponding authors; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Founder Chancellor Shri. N.P.V. Ramasamy Udayar Research Fellowship, SRIHER, Chennai, No. U022300967.
Institutional review board statement: Data from all the participants were collected only after written informed consent was obtained. Personal data will not be revealed at any time to maintain participants’ confidentiality. Ethics approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC), SRIHER, Porur, Chennai (IEC-NI/24/APR/93/63, dated 24-06-2024).
Clinical trial registration statement: The study does not require registration as it does not meet the definition of a clinical trial.
Informed consent statement: Data from all the participants were collected only after written informed consent was obtained. Personal data will not be revealed at any time to maintain participants’ confidentiality.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Santhi Silambanan, MD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Porur, Chennai 600116, Tamil Nadu, India. santhisilambanan@sriramachandra.edu.in
Received: January 26, 2026
Revised: February 13, 2026
Accepted: April 2, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 140 Days and 1.3 Hours
Revised: February 13, 2026
Accepted: April 2, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 140 Days and 1.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Escherichia coli urinary tract infections are persistent through the formation of intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) and biofilms, which are not detected by conventional diagnostic techniques. This work was designed to compare Sternheimer-Malbin, Wright-Giemsa, Safranin, and immunofluorescent staining methods for the detection of IBCs in urinary sediments. Compared with Wright-Giemsa and Sternheimer-Malbin, immunofluorescence was proven to have a higher detection rate for diagnosing IBCs. The results underscore the importance of novel diagnostic procedures and therapeutic strategies directed not only towards intracellular but also biofilm-embedded bacteria for the successful treatment of urinary tract infections.