Authors:

Amelia G Eicher-Miller

Date Created:

Not specified

Course Title:

Professor:

Not specified

About Paper:

Some of the most advanced antibacterial technologies come from the most unlikely places: the wings of insects. Insect wings like those of cicadas or dragonflies have textured surfaces with features on the nanoscale, called nanopatterns. Medical implants such as catheters and dental or orthopedic implants offer bacteria a place to grow and form toxic biofilm communities that are antibiotic resistant. Current methods prevent biofilm growth by modifying implant surfaces to be antibiofouling or antiadhesive, but these coatings can cause inflammation and bacterial resistance due to their uneven and uncontrolled antibiotic release. Application of nanopatterns to medical implants creates a bactericidal surface that is also safe for the body. The physical properties of nanopatterns rupture bacterial cells, making them predictable and nontoxic. However, bacteria are not static. Their growth may influence their adhesion strength. This project will expand on an existing mathematical model to determine the effect of bacterial growth on surface adherence. By calculating how the free energy available to the bacteria changes as it grows on a surface, it will be revealed when the bacteria adhere most strongly. For modeling, I will expand the existing formulation to cylindrical cells, rather than spherical ones, since a significant fraction of infectious bacterium are cylindrical/rod-shaped. I will evaluate the free energy available to bacteria on both flat and nanopatterned surfaces, and analyze both situations using MATLAB. In the future, the results may be applied to developing more effective nanopatterned surfaces that target bacteria when they are most adhesive. Keywords: Antibacterial Technology; Bacteria Mechanics; Nanopatterns; Biophysical Modeling; Mechanical Engineering

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Amelia G Eicher-Miller