Reversibility and mechanism of bacterial adhesion

Abstract

The reversibility and mechanisms of adhesion of various pseudomonads and coryneform bacteria having different hydrophobicities and negative cell surface charges on negatively charged Teflon and glass were studied. Adhesion at an ionic strength of 0.1 M was irreversible and corresponded to activation Gibbs energies for detachment higher than 5 kT for 19 out of 20 combinations of bacterial strains and surfaces. The data further demonstrate the importance of two groups of interactions: (i) the electrostatic and van der Waals interactions as described by the DLVO model, and (ii) the interactions between the outer cell surface macromolecules and the solids (steric interactions). At an ionic strength of 0.1 M, steric interactions control adhesion for all but two bacterium/substratum combinations tested. These interactions are attractive for seven moderately to strongly hydrophobic strains on Teflon and prevented detachment upon decreasing the ionic strength to less than 0.0001 M and also after applying shear forces. In contrast, steric interactions inhibited adhesion for more hydrophilic bacterium/substratum combinations for which detachment occurred upon reducing the ionic strength to less than 0.0001 M and/or after applying shear. The importance of the interactions included by the DLVO model is demonstrated by the following. (i) Two hydrophobic strains adhere irreversibly on glass by strong van der Waals attraction in a secondary DLVO minimum at an ionic strength of 0.1 M and detach when the ionic strength is reduced to less than 0.0001 M. (ii) Electrostatic repulsion inhibits deposition at lower ionic strength. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.