(11b) Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm Rheology

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an environmental bacteria that is known for its ability to produce alginate incased biofilm. It can cause major problems in the medical field as an opportunistic pathogen. Rheology is the study of material behavior in response to applied stress. P. aeruginosa biofilm is viscoelastic and shows predominantly elastic property.  The elastic modulus describes the resistance to deformation or the solid-like behavior of a material, so this property is likely responsible for P. aeruginosa biofilm robustness in the face of outside stresses. The changes in the medium composition effected the biofilm strength in various different ways. The salt additions had detrimental effect on the biofilm strength while sugar additions increased biofilm strength.