Characterisation of spin coated engineered Escherichia coli biofilms using atomic force microscopy

Andreas Tsoligkas, James Bowen, M Winn, RJM Goss, Timothy Overton, Mark Simmons

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ability of biofilms to withstand chemical and physical extremes gives them the potential to be developed as robust biocatalysts. Critical to this issue is their capacity to withstand the physical environment within a bioreactor; in order to assess this capability knowledge of their surface properties and adhesive strength is required. Novel atomic force microscopy experiments conducted under growth conditions (30°C) were used to characterise Escherichia coli biofilms, which were generated by a recently developed spin-coating method onto a poly-l-lysine coated glass substrate. High-resolution topographical images were obtained throughout the course of biofilm development, quantifying the tip-cell interaction force during the 10 day maturation process. Strikingly, the adhesion force between the Si AFM tip and the biofilm surface increased from 0.8nN to 40nN within 3 days. This was most likely due to the production of extracellular polymer substance (EPS), over the maturation period, which was also observed by electron microscopy. At later stages of maturation, multiple retraction events were also identified corresponding to biofilm surface features thought to be EPS components. The spin coated biofilms were shown to have stronger surface adhesion than an equivalent conventionally grown biofilm on the same glass substrate.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)152-160
Number of pages9
JournalColloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces
Volume89
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2012

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Characterisation of spin coated engineered Escherichia coli biofilms using atomic force microscopy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this