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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Mark GeogheganORCiD
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© 2014 The Authors.The mechanical properties of Rhodococcus RC291 were measured using force spectroscopy equipped with a bacterial cell probe. Rhodococcal cells in the late growth stage of development were found to have greater adhesion to a silicon oxide surface than those in the early growth stage. This is because there are more extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that contain nonspecific binding sites available on the cells of late growth stage. It is found that EPS in the late exponential phase are less densely bound but consist of chains able to extend further into their local environment, while the denser EPS at the late stationary phase act more to sheath the cell. Contraction and extension of the EPS could change the density of the binding sites, and therefore affect the magnitude of the adhesion force between the EPS and the silicon oxide surface. By treating rhodococcal EPS as a surface-grafted polyelectrolyte layer and using scaling theory, the interaction between EPS and a solid substrate was modelled for the cell approaching the surface which revealed that EPS possess a large capacity to store charge. Changing the pH of the surrounding medium acts to change the conformation of EPS chains.
Author(s): Pen Y, Zhang ZJ, Morales-Garcia AL, Mears M, Tarmey DS, Edyvean RG, Banwart SA, Geoghegan M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Biomembranes
Year: 2015
Volume: 1848
Issue: 2
Pages: 518-526
Print publication date: 01/02/2015
Online publication date: 22/11/2014
Acceptance date: 06/11/2014
ISSN (print): 0005-2736
ISSN (electronic): 1879-2642
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2014.11.007
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2014.11.007
PubMed id: 25462171
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