title: Fabrication of a platform to isolate the influences of surface nanotopography from chemistry on bacterial attachment and growth.
abstract: Billions of dollars are spent annually worldwide to combat the adverse effects of bacterial attachment and biofilm formation in industries as varied as maritime, food, and health. While advances in the fabrication of antifouling surfaces have been reported recently, a number of the essential aspects responsible for the formation of biofilms remain unresolved, including the important initial stages of bacterial attachment to a substrate surface. The reduction of bacterial attachment to surfaces is a key concept in the prevention or minimization of biofilm formation. The chemical and physical characteristics of both the substrate and bacteria are important in understanding the attachment process, but substrate modification is likely the most practical route to enable the extent of bacterial attachment taking place to be effectively controlled. The microtopography and chemistry of the surface are known to influence bacterial attachment. The role of surface chemistry versus nanotopography and their interplay, however, remain unclear. Most methods used for imparting nanotopographical patterns onto a surface also induce changes in the surface chemistry and vice versa. In this study, the authors combine colloidal lithography and plasma polymerization to fabricate homogeneous, reproducible, and periodic nanotopographies with a controllable surface chemistry. The attachment of Escherichia coli bacteria onto carboxyl (plasma polymerized acrylic acid, ppAAc) and hydrocarbon (plasma polymerized octadiene, ppOct) rich plasma polymer films on either flat or colloidal array surfaces revealed that the surface chemistry plays a critical role in bacterial attachment, whereas the effect of surface nanotopography on the bacterial attachment appears to be more difficult to define. This platform represents a promising approach to allow a greater understanding of the role that surface chemistry and nanotopography play on bacterial attachment and the subsequent biofouling of the surface.
authors.affiliation: Biointerface Engineering, IRIS, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia.
authors.forename: Adoracion
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pegalajar-Jurado
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing Flagship, Bayview Avenue, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Easton
authors.affiliation: School of Science, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia.
authors.forename: Russell J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: Biointerface Engineering, IRIS, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia.
authors.forename: Sally L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: McArthur
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers