Nanopillared Surfaces Disrupt Pseudomonas aeruginosa Mechanoresponsive Upstream Motility

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Materials Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic, multidrug-resistant pathogen forming biofilms in fluid flow environments like medical devices.
• This bacterium utilizes mechanoresponsive type IV pili for upstream motility, crucial for colonization and infection.
• Preventing this motility and subsequent biofilm formation is a significant challenge in healthcare and industry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and apply scalable nanopillared surfaces to inhibit P. aeruginosa upstream motility and colonization.
• To investigate the impact of nanopillared surface geometry on bacterial behavior under flow conditions.
• To explore bacteria-nanostructured surface interactions for disrupting bacterial attachment.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nanopillared surfaces using nanoimprint lithography with varying pillar densities and dimensions.
• Utilizing flow channels to simulate shear stress conditions found in medical devices (e.g., catheters).
• Employing microscopy to analyze P. aeruginosa motility, trajectory, displacement, velocity, and surface attachment on nanopillared surfaces.

Main Results:

• Densely packed, subcellular nanopillared surfaces (200-600 nm periodicity, 70-215 nm width) significantly inhibit P. aeruginosa upstream motility.
• These specific nanopillar geometries reduce bacterial surface attachment and colonization.
• The bacteria-nanostructured surface interface effect was demonstrated as a key factor.

Conclusions:

• Tailored nanopillared surfaces can effectively disrupt P. aeruginosa mechanoresponsive motility and attachment.
• This approach offers a promising strategy for preventing bacterial colonization and biofilm formation in fluid flow systems.
• Nanostructured surfaces present a novel platform for combating multidrug-resistant pathogen infections.