Fig. 5

Tavaborole inhibits biofilm formation and motility. a The ability of E. coli to generate biofilms was assessed. b Biofilm development of E. coli Y9395 after treatment with 0.25-2 µg/ml TOB. c Effects of Tava (1/4 × Tava, 2 µg/ml), TOB (1/4 × TOB, 0.5 µg/ml), and the combination (1/4 × TOB + 1/4 × Tava, 0.5 µg/ml + 2 µg/ml) on biofilm inhibition at days 1–3. d Assay for swimming and swarming. E. coli ATCC 25,922 was grown to mid-log phase and inoculated 0.3% or 0.5% agar plates with DMSO (Ctrl) or Tava (4 µg/ml), respectively. e Effect of Tava or its combination with TOB on the hydrophobicity of E. coli. Bacterial hydrophobicity is classified as low (≤ 50), moderate (50–70%) or high (≥ 70%). DMSO was as a negative control. Error bars indicate standard deviation. All experiments are in triplicate. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001