Collaborative Research: Investigating Bacteria-Surface Interactions by Surface Engineering and Mathematical Modeling

细菌生物膜是普遍存在的高度水合结构，细菌细胞嵌入分泌的多糖基质并附着在表面。有充分的证据表明，与自由游动的细胞相比，生物膜细胞对抗生素和消毒剂的耐受性高达1000倍。因此，有害的生物膜在工业（持续性生物污染）和医疗（慢性感染）环境中都会造成严重的问题。该奖项的研究目标是利用综合实验方法和数学建模来研究细菌表面和生物膜流动的相互作用。表面将被设计成具有不同功能基团的自组装单层（sam），以指导不同模式的生物膜形成。表面粗糙度和流动状况也将受到严格控制。在这种定义良好的系统中的实验研究将与数学建模相结合，以获得有关生物膜形成机制的关键信息。这些数据将有助于开发新的方法来控制细菌粘附和生物膜的形成，探索生物膜在流场中的生长动力学，并研究一些重要基因在生物膜形成中的作用。这项研究可以帮助解决一些重要的挑战，如预防工业环境中持续的生物污染和腐蚀，以及控制医疗保健中与医疗设备相关的感染。这项研究的结果将提高我们对生物膜形成的理解，并有助于设计更好的防污表面。该项目还将提供一个很好的机会来培养跨学科的学生，并在科学和工程职业中招募和留住年轻人才（特别是代表性不足的群体）。pi还将创造机会，让高中生和教师参与到与生物膜相关的科学活动中来。

Bacterial biofilms are ubiquitous highly hydrated structures with bacterial cells embedded in a secreted polysaccharide matrix and attached to a surface. It is well documented that biofilm cells are up to 1000 times more tolerant to antibiotics and disinfectants compared to their free-swimming counterparts. Consequently, deleterious biofilms cause serious problems in both industrial (persistent biofouling) and medical (chronic infections) settings. The research objective of this award is to investigate bacteria-surface and biofilm-flow interactions using integrated experimental approaches and mathematical modeling. Surfaces will be engineered with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) presenting different functional groups to guide biofilm formation in different patterns. The surface roughness and flow condition will also be rigorously controlled. The experimental study in such well-defined systems will be integrated with mathematical modeling to obtain critical information about biofilm formation mechanism. These data will help develop new methods to control bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, probe biofilm growth dynamics in a flow field, and investigate the roles of some important genes in biofilm formation. This research can help address some important challenges such as prevention of persistent biofouling and corrosion in industrial settings, as well as control of medical device-associated infections in health care. The outcome of this study will improve our understanding of biofilm formation and help design better antifouling surfaces. This project will also provide a good opportunity to train students across multiple disciplines, and to recruit and retain young talents (especially the underrepresented groups) in science and engineering careers. The PIs will also create opportunities to get high school students and teachers involved in biofilm-related scientific activities.