10.1021/acsnano.8b02293.s001
Gi Byoung Hwang
Gi Byoung
Hwang
Kristopher Page
Kristopher
Page
Adnan Patir
Adnan
Patir
Sean P. Nair
Sean
P. Nair
Elaine Allan
Elaine
Allan
Ivan P. Parkin
Ivan P.
Parkin
The Anti-Biofouling Properties of Superhydrophobic
Surfaces are Short-Lived
American Chemical Society
2018
superhydrophobic surfaces
Short-Lived Superhydrophobic surfaces
Man-made superhydrophobic surfaces
entrapped air-bubble layer
2018-05-24 00:00:00
Journal contribution
https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/The_Anti-Biofouling_Properties_of_Superhydrophobic_Surfaces_are_Short-Lived/6491828
Superhydrophobic
surfaces are present in nature on the leaves of
many plant species. Water rolls on these surfaces, and the rolling
motion picks up particles including bacteria and viruses. Man-made
superhydrophobic surfaces have been made in an effort to reduce biofouling.
We show here that the anti-biofouling property of a superhydrophobic
surface is due to an entrapped air-bubble layer that reduces contact
between the bacteria and the surface. Further, we showed that prolonged
immersion of superhydrophobic surfaces in water led to loss of the
bubble-layer and subsequent bacterial adhesion that unexpectedly exceeded
that of the control materials. This behavior was not restricted to
one particular type of material but was evident on different types
of superhydrophobic surfaces. This work is important in that it suggests
that superhydrophobic surfaces may actually encourage bacterial adhesion
during longer term exposure.