Exploring the antifouling effect of elastic deformation by DEM-CFD coupling simulation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Bacterial adhesion to surfaces is a significant challenge in various industries, leading to biofilm formation and contamination.
• Traditional antifouling strategies often rely on toxic biocides, necessitating the development of non-toxic alternatives.
• Elastic deformation of surfaces has been proposed as a mechanism for foul-release, but its quantitative impact on bacterial adhesion requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of elastic deformation and elastic modulus on the release of adhered bacteria from silicone elastomers.
• To compare the antifouling properties of elastic silicone surfaces versus rigid polystyrene under static and hydrodynamic conditions.
• To elucidate the bacterial adhesive kinetics on elastic and rigid surfaces using computational simulations.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of four silicone elastomers (SE) with varying elastic moduli and one rigid polystyrene sheet.
• Bacterial attachment tests under static and hydrodynamic conditions.
• Discrete Element Method (DEM)-Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) coupling simulations to study bacterial adhesive kinetics.

Main Results:

• Elastic silicone surfaces exhibited distinct anti-adhesion properties compared to rigid surfaces under hydrodynamic conditions.
• Bacterial adhesion was significantly lower on elastic walls than on rigid walls, as indicated by DEM-CFD simulations.
• Bacterial adhesion increased with increasing elastic modulus within a certain range, suggesting an optimal elastic property for antifouling.

Conclusions:

• Elastic deformation of silicone surfaces plays a crucial role in reducing bacterial adhesion, particularly under dynamic fluid flow.
• The study provides evidence that elastomer-based materials can serve as effective non-toxic foul-release surfaces.
• Findings facilitate the design of advanced, non-toxic antifouling materials by optimizing elastic properties for reduced bacterial colonization.