Meso-scale modeling, analysis and simulation of bacterial biofilms

细菌生物膜的细观建模、分析和模拟

• 批准号: 261336-2007
• 负责人: Eberl, HermannJosef
• 金额: $ 1.38万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2007-01-01 至 2008-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=361457
• 关键词: Meso; scale; modeling; analysis; simulation

Bacteria, beneficial or pathogenic, tend to colonise surfaces that are immersed in aqueous environments. The cells attach to the surface, become sessile and produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that form a gel-like layer in which the bacteria themselves are embedded. Colony numbers increase by cell division and vivid, highly organised microbial communities (termed biofilms) develop. Bacterial biofilms form wherever environmental conditions are favorable and nutrients are available to sustain microbial life. This ability makes biofilms one of the most successful life forms on earth. Biofilms can benefit engineered systems (mainly in environmental applications such as wastewater treatment, soil remediation, groundwater protection) or can become a threat (e.g, medical, food safety, biofouling, biocorrosion). Despite their name, biofilms do not form in homogeneous layers but they can develop in highly irregular morphologies like  cluster-and-channel architectures. It has been recognized, that besides modern high resolution microscopy techniques, mathematical models and computer simulations are also important tools to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of biofilm processes.The aim of this research program is to develop and analyze such mathematical models and numerical algorithms for bacterial biofilm processes on the meso-scale (the actual biofilm scale, much larger than an individual cell and much smaller than the laboratory reactor) and to study them in computer simulations. This research program involves tools from several classical areas of applied mathematics, such as mathematical biology (in particular population and resource dynamics), analysis and numerical algorithms of nonlinear partial differential equations, continuum mechanics, and computational fluid dynamics. Under a  mathematical aspect, it will make in particular a novel contribution to the analysis of degenerated parabolic systems and their numerical solution.

有益的或致病的细菌倾向于在浸入水性环境中的表面上定居。细胞附着在表面，变得固着并产生细胞外聚合物（EPS），形成细菌本身嵌入其中的凝胶状层。菌落数量增加细胞分裂和生动的，高度组织化的微生物群落（称为生物膜）发展。只要环境条件有利，营养物质可维持微生物的生命，细菌生物膜就会形成。这种能力使生物膜成为地球上最成功的生命形式之一。生物膜可以有益于工程系统（主要在环境应用中，如废水处理，土壤修复，地下水保护），也可以成为威胁（例如，医疗，食品安全，生物污染，生物腐蚀）。尽管它们的名字，生物膜不形成均匀的层，但它们可以发展成高度不规则的形态，如集群和通道架构。除了现代高分辨率显微镜技术外，数学模型和计算机模拟也是深入理解生物膜过程复杂性的重要工具，本研究旨在发展和分析介观尺度下细菌生物膜过程的数学模型和数值算法（实际的生物膜规模，比单个细胞大得多，比实验室反应器小得多），并在计算机模拟中研究它们。该研究计划涉及应用数学的几个经典领域的工具，如数学生物学（特别是人口和资源动力学），非线性偏微分方程的分析和数值算法，连续介质力学和计算流体动力学。在数学方面，它将作出特别是一个新的贡献退化抛物系统的分析和数值解。