Prospects of Application of Microbial Biofilm to Estimate PMI of Corpses in Water

In forensic pathology, the estimation of postmortem interval （PMI） has always been a difficult issue, and there is still lack of effective methods to estimate PMI of corpses in water. Microbial biofilm refers to the microbial population attached to non-biological or biological surfaces by microorganisms during microbial growth, that has a three-dimensional structure, surrounded by extracellular polymers and matrix networks created by itself. A series of community succession phenomena of microorganisms occur during the occurrence and development of microbial population. The microbial community and its succession process of this kind of biofilm attached to the surface of a corpse in water may become a new basis for estimation of the PMI of corpses in water. This review elucidates on the concept, classification, research methods, and influencing factors of biofilm and analyzes its application prospects in PMI estimation of corpses in water, which would provide new ideas for the researches in this field.