About the Authors

Cornelia Gottschick

Cornelia.Gottschick@helmholtz-hzi.de

Affiliation Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstr. 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany

Szymon P. Szafranski

Affiliation Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstr. 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany

Brigitte Kunze

Affiliation Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstr. 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany

Helena Sztajer

Affiliation Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstr. 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany

Clarissa Masur

Affiliation Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel, Sudbrackstrasse 56, 33611 Bielefeld, Germany

Christoph Abels

Affiliation Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel, Sudbrackstrasse 56, 33611 Bielefeld, Germany

Irene Wagner-Döbler

Affiliation Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstr. 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany

Competing Interests

The authors have read the journal's policy. CA and CM have the following competing interests: They work for the company Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel which is interested in developing products against bacterial vaginosis. CA and IWD (Helmholtz Centre for Infection research, HZI) have together applied for a grant (see funding statement). Therefore, although, CA and CM work for the company Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel, this research was done independently of the company and there are no competing interests. The company Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel has applied for a patent covering part of this work. The International Publication Number for this patent is WO2013/139796A1. It has the title “Use of amphoteric surfactants for the prevention and treatment of pathogenic vaginal biofilms in vaginal infections” and was applied for by Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel. A clinical study with the number NCT02687789 was conducted by Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel with PHARMALOG Institute for Clinical Research Bremer Pharmacovigilance Service GmbH as collaborator. This does not alter the authors adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: CM CA IWD BK HS. Performed the experiments: CG SS BK HS. Analyzed the data: CG SS BK HS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CA IWD. Wrote the paper: CG IWD.