Single particle tracking reveals spatial and dynamic organization of the Escherichia coli biofilm matrix
Name
Birjiniuk-2014-Single particle trac.pdf
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1.24 MB
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Author(s)
Birjiniuk, Alona
Nance, Elizabeth
Hanes, Justin
Ribbeck, Katharina
Billings, Amanda Nicole
Doyle, Patrick S.
Date Issued
August 2014
Journal
New Journal of Physics
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Citation
Birjiniuk, Alona, Nicole Billings, Elizabeth Nance, Justin Hanes, Katharina Ribbeck, and Patrick S Doyle. “ Single Particle Tracking Reveals Spatial and Dynamic Organization of the Escherichia Coli Biofilm Matrix .” New Journal of Physics 16, no. 8 (August 1, 2014): 085014. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Biofilms are communities of surface-adherent bacteria surrounded by secreted polymers known as the extracellular polymeric substance. Biofilms are harmful in many industries, and thus it is of great interest to understand their mechanical properties and structure to determine ways to destabilize them. By performing single particle tracking with beads of varying surface functionalization it was found that charge interactions play a key role in mediating mobility within biofilms. With a combination of single particle tracking and microrheological concepts, it was found that Escherichia coli biofilms display height dependent charge density that evolves over time. Statistical analyses of bead trajectories and confocal microscopy showed inter-connecting micron scale channels that penetrate throughout the biofilm, which may be important for nutrient transfer through the system. This methodology provides significant insight into a particular biofilm system and can be applied to many others to provide comparisons of biofilm structure. The elucidation of structure provides evidence for the permeability of biofilms to microscale objects, and the ability of a biofilm to mature and change properties over time.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/8/085014
