Regensburg 2016 – scientific programme
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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 59: Biomaterials and Biopolymers III (joint session BP/CPP/MM, organized by BP)
CPP 59.5: Talk
Thursday, March 10, 2016, 16:00–16:15, H45
AFM force spectroscopy with S. aureus and Strep. mutans to reveal biopolymer binding properties — •Friederike Nolle1, Nicolas Thewes1, Christian Spengler1, Kordula Schellnhuber1, Peter Loskill1, Alexander Thewes2, Ludger Santen2, and Karin Jacobs1 — 1Saarland University, Dept. of Experimental Physics, 66041 Saarbruecken — 2Saarland University, Dept. of Theoretical Physics, 66041 Saarbruecken
The adhesion of pathogenic bacteria is a crucial step in the development of implant-related infections. The adhesion of bacteria is mediated by biopolymers, the properties of which we are able to characterize by AFM force spectroscopy, where the probe is a single bacterium. To deepen the understanding, we combine the AFM studies with computer simulations [1]. For bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) in contact with hydrophobic surfaces, thermally fluctuating cell wall proteins of different stiffness attach to the surface via short range forces and subsequently * due to entropic forces * pull the bacterial cell into close contact. That way, S. aureus is able to substantially increase its interaction range for contact initiation. Bacteria like Streptococcus mutans also attach to hydrophilic surfaces (e.g. titanium or hydroxyapatite) in the presence or absence of other biomolecules (proteins, enzymes). Our study reveals the importance of specific parameters (e.g. roughness) and proposes that fluctuations in protein density and structure are much more relevant than the exact form of the binding potential.
[1] N. Thewes, P. Loskill, P. Jung, H. Peisker, M. Bischoff, M. Herrmann, K. Jacobs, Soft Matter 2015, 11, 8913-8919