COLL 46 |
| Anneta Razatos, Rong Kou, Laura Palmer, and Jay Schwartz. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 876006, Tempe, AZ 85287-6006 |
| Bacteria adhering to implanted biomaterials form surface-associated infections known as biofilms, which are refractile to host defense mechanisms and antibiotic therapies. These infections are frequently responsible for the failure of implanted medical devices. The first and most important step in biofilm infections is bacterial adhesion. Preventing bacterial adhesion would therefore prevent biofilm infections. Upon implantation, biomaterials become coated with serum proteins. Therefore, the critical issue in surface-associated infections is bacterial adhesion to protein-coated substrates. In this study, the atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to directly measure the interaction forces between bacteria and protein-coated substrates under physiological conditions. AFM force measurements were significantly more quantitative and reproducible in comparison to traditional bacterial adhesion assays. AFM force measurements were correlated to the surface properties of bare and protein-coated substrates. The goal of this research is to identify protein and substrate combinations that prevent bacterial adhesion by repulsive steric effects. |
|
Nanoscale Imaging of Biological Systems
Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry |