Surface Attachment*

Approximately 75% of all hospital-acquired UTIs are associated with urinary catheters. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a biofilm-forming bacteria that is frequently responsible for these infections. P. aeruginosa attachment to a surface can be altered by varying the surface stiffness. This study focuses on the development of experimentation methods used to measure bacterial attachment to surfaces of different stiffnesses over time. The first study analyzed bacterial attachment to 0.5 to 3% concentrated agar gel at 2 and 24 hours after inoculation using a vortex mixer to prepare the attached bacteria and gel for dilution. The second study used a bead homogenizer in place of the vortex. Due to the pandemic, this study switched to a related project that analyzes previously-collected data on attachment of P. aeruginosa to PEGDA gel surfaces from 0.5 to 3 hours after inoculation. Developing a high throughput method to measure surface attachment is incredibly important for future analysis of different species of bacteria under the same growth conditions, and multiple types of bacteria competing for the same surface. This study analyzes growth patterns and collection methods to recommend methods for measuring attachment and surface conditions to minimize bacterial growth.