The effects of proteins on bacterial attachment to polystyrene

Bovine serum albumin, gelatin, fibrinogen and pepsin impaired the attachment of a marine pseudomonad to polystyrene Petri dishes, apparently through adsorption on the dish surface. Serum albumin also appeared to affect the bacterial surface. The basic proteins protamine and histone did not markedly inhibit attachment. These findings are discussed in relation to comparative experiments using tissue cells.