| AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces Division | Thursday Sessions |
| Session BI-ThP |
| Session: | Biomaterial Interfaces Poster Session |
| Presenter: | MariaPilar Arpa Sancet, Universität Heidelberg, Germany |
| Authors: | M.P. Arpa Sancet, Universität Heidelberg, Germany C. Christophis, Universität Heidelberg, Germany S. Bauer, Universität Heidelberg, Germany A. Rosenhahn, Universität Heidelberg, Germany M. Grunze, Universität Heidelberg, Germany |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Biofouling, the undesired growth of marine organisms on submerged surfaces, is a global problem with both economic and environmental consequences. The attachment of bacteria to surfaces is an important step in the biofouling process, and the development of ways to attenuate microbial attachment or to achieve their easy removal is desirable. We built a microfuidic system and applied it to determine the adhesion strength of bacterial biofilms. Marine bacteria, e.g. Cobetia marina are cultivated in this microfluidic device on the surfaces of interest. The bacterial detachment is caused by a hydrodynamic shear flow which is continuously increased and the removal is recorded via video microscopy. The adhesion strength is determined as the shear stress needed to detach 50% of the bacteria. The parameters incubation time, medium and increase of shear stress were varied in order to find the optimal conditions to carry out the biological assays. The applicability of the technique is demonstrated using self assembled monolayers with a different ability to bind water. Well hydrated surfaces lead to decreased adhesion strength while bacteria stick stronger to less hydrated surfaces. Based on these findings, a range of polysaccharide hydrogels were tested towards their potential to reduce adhesion strength.