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Related Concept Videos

Colloids03:22

Colloids

21.3K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...
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Adhesion01:14

Adhesion

44.6K
Adhesion occurs when one type of molecule is attracted to a different molecule. Water exhibits adhesive properties in the presence of polar surfaces, such as glass or cellulose in plants. For instance, when water is poured into a glass, the positively charged hydrogen molecules of water are more attracted to the negatively charged oxygen molecules in the silica than to the oxygen in neighboring water molecules.
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow...
44.6K
Colloids and Suspensions01:17

Colloids and Suspensions

3.5K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles visible to the naked eye or seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. The suspended particles in a suspension settle out after some time of mixing. The separation of particles from a suspension is...
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The Tree of Life - Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryotes02:40

The Tree of Life - Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryotes

39.0K
The “tree of life” describes the evolution of life and the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The root of the tree is the common ancestor to all life on Earth. All other species radiate from this point, much like the branches of a tree. The numerous tips of these branches on the tree of life represent every living, or extant, species. Extinct species, which are species that no longer exist, can be found towards the center of the tree. Currently, these organisms, both...
39.0K
Colloidal precipitates01:09

Colloidal precipitates

6.5K
The high insolubility of some precipitates can result in an unfavorable relative supersaturation. This can lead to colloidal particles with a large surface-to-mass ratio, where adsorption is promoted. For instance, in the precipitation of silver chloride, silver ions are adsorbed on the surface of the colloidal particles, forming a primary layer. This layer attracts ions of opposite charge (such as nitrate ions), forming a diffuse secondary layer of adsorbed ions. This electric double layer...
6.5K
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity02:57

Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity

33.6K
Surface Tension
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
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Introducing Shear Stress in the Study of Bacterial Adhesion
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Bacteria as living patchy colloids: Phenotypic heterogeneity in surface adhesion.

Teun Vissers1, Aidan T Brown1, Nick Koumakis1

  • 1Scottish Universities Physics Alliances and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK.

Science Advances
|May 3, 2018
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Summary

Pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia coli show varied surface adhesion. A new method reveals cells bind via localized patches, explaining differences in adhesion strength and impacting biomedical applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biophysics
  • Surface Science

Background:

  • Controlling pathogenic bacterial surface adhesion is crucial for biomedical applications.
  • Microscopic details and cell-to-cell variations in bacterial adhesion remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate single-cell adhesion heterogeneity in *Escherichia coli* populations.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms underlying variations in bacterial surface adhesion strength.

Main Methods:

  • Development and application of a novel high-throughput method.
  • Tracking individual *Escherichia coli* cells near a glass surface.
  • Utilizing a patchy colloid model for analysis.

Main Results:

  • Observed significant phenotypic heterogeneity in bacterial adhesion.
  • Identified distinct bacterial states: planktonic, weakly adhering, and strongly adhering.
  • Demonstrated that adhesion strength correlates with the number of localized adhesive patches on cells.

Conclusions:

  • Bacterial surface adhesion is heterogeneous, driven by localized adhesive patches.
  • The patchy colloid model effectively explains observed adhesion variations.
  • Findings offer insights for controlling bacterial adhesion in biomedical contexts.