Soft Robotic Concepts in Catheter Design: an On-demand Fouling-release Urinary Catheter

Figure S1. Growth and characterization of mature P. mirabilis crystalline biofilms on flat silicone substrates. (a) Schematic of the flow system. The silicone samples were submerged in (b) the modified drip flow reactor [1] and inoculated with a 4 hour culture of P. mirabilis. After allowing the bacteria to adhere for 1 hour, artificial urine with 1 % tryptic soy broth was pumped at 0.5 mL min-1 through the drip flow reactor and over the flat silicone samples. The reactor was maintained at 37°C by mini-incubator. A mature crystalline biofilm grew over approximately 42 hours. (c) SEM of the resultant planar biofilm shows large crystals and microcrystal aggregates typical of mature P. mirabilis biofilms observed in catheters removed from infected patients.[2