Vibrio fischeri and Escherichia coli adhesion tendencies towards photolithographically modified nanosmooth poly (tert-butyl methacrylate) polymer surfaces

Elena P Ivanova¹, Natasa Mitik-Dineva¹, Radu C Mocanasu¹, Sarah Murphy¹, James Wang², Grant van Riessen³, Russell J Crawford¹

¹Faculty Life and Social Sciences; ²IRIS, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia; ³Centre for Materials and Surface Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: This study reports the adhesion behavior of two bacterial species, Vibrio fischeri and Escherichia coli, to the photoresistant poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (P(tBMA)) polymer surface. The data has demonstrated that ultraviolet irradiation of P(tBMA) was able to provide control over bacterial adhesion tendencies. Following photolithography, several of the surface characteristics of P(tBMA) were found to be altered. Atomic force microscopy analysis indicated that photolithographically modified P(tBMA) (henceforth termed ‘modified polymer’) appeared as a ‘nanosmooth’ surface with an average surface roughness of 1.6 nm. Although confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis clearly demonstrated that V. fischeri and E. coli presented largely different patterns of attachment in order to adhere to the same surfaces, both species exhibited a greater adhesion propensity towards the ‘nanosmooth’ surface. The adhesion of both species to the modified polymer surface appeared to be facilitated by an elevated production of extracellular polymeric substances when in contact with the substrate.

Keywords: poly(tert-butylmethacrylate) polymeric surfaces, surface nanotopography, bacterial attachment, extracellular polymeric substances