Bacterial Adhesion in Structured Environments

Biofilms-surface-bound communities of microbes-are a major medical concern, as they can be sources of infection that are difficult to eradicate. Their formation starts with the attachment of bacteria to available surfaces-often implantable biomaterials. The development of materials that prevent bacterial adhesion is therefore of paramount importance, and it requires a thorough understanding of the materials and bacterial surface properties that enable adhesive interactions. We herein design model surfaces and examine the interplay between micro-scale geometry, surface energy and bacterial surface properties with respect to adhesion, with the ultimate goal of understanding bacterial adhesion in structured environments, and establishing principles for design of novel surfaces that effectively repel bacteria. We first study adhesion of Escherichia coli to engineered surfaces possessing superficially unfavorable geometries. We show that cells can overcome geometric constraints with the aid of flagella, which are able to reach between narrow crevices, thus improvin