Bacterial biofilm has detrimental effects on human health and industrial productivity.  Understanding the initial bacterial attachment is critical in developing strategies for preventing biofilm formation.  In this study, we followed the initial attachment of three bacterial species; Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida, on two different surfaces, glass and an organosilane modified hydrophobic surface, using slow flowing systems.  The hydrophobicity of the bacterial strains was evaluated by both partitioning to hexadecane and contact angle measurements. On the hydrophilic glass surface, the attachment trend was found to be PAO1 < P. putida < E. coli, while the opposite trend was observed on the hydrophobic surface.  The attachment of these three bacterial strains on the glass surface was able to be interpreted by the extended DLVO theory.  However, we would need to consider the energy barrier, from the secondary minimum to the primary minimum, to explain the initial attachment trend on the hydrophobic surface.

Initial bacterial attachment in slow flowing systems: The effects of substrate surface hydrophobicity

241st National Meeting (2011)

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