2007 CBE Biofilm Mechanics Workshop, Bozeman, MT

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2007 Initiative: Interdisciplinary Research Retreat Biofilm Mechanics Workshop A workshop review, by Phil Stewart June 28-30, 2007 Montana State University Campus Bozeman, Montana Participants list, below

Late June can be a beautiful time in Montana, and so it was this year when the Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE) hosted a workshop on the topic of biofilm mechanics on the Montana State University campus. This event brought together 26 participants from Montana, Texas, Florida, New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands to share ideas and recent results about what holds microbial biofilms together and how these biological assemblages can be understood as mechanical structures that deform, move, and flow. The meeting was informal, convivial, and collaborative in spirit. Technical presentations were interspersed with discussion sessions. The modest size of the group and relaxed atmosphere helped make the questioning and discussion particularly unfettered, creative, and leavened with humor. The group dined together in the cellar of an attractive restaurant in historic downtown Bozeman, and a free afternoon allowed for some fishing, hiking, beer sipping, and project planning. We are indebted to Isaac Klapper for conceiving this event and organizing the program.
The interdisciplinary nature of the group was obvious at lunch one day when our table of five included a physicist, a chemical engineer, two microbiologists, and an electrical engineer. Also represented among the workshop participants were mathematicians, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, a biomedical engineer and a biochemist. Rather than encapsulate specific talks, let me just summarize here some of the themes, hypotheses, and ideas that emerged in the course of the workshop: • Biofilm cohesion is realized through multiple polymers and multiple cohesive forces; • Specific polysaccharides are distributed heterogeneously in the biofilm matrix; these can be localized via lectin staining and microscopy; • Abiotic components (precipitates, corrosion products, dead white blood cells, etc.) are significant in real-world systems and likely contribute to the material properties of biofilms; • Biofilm should not be a prison; biological pathways for dispersion of cells from a biofilm are being elucidated; • Biofilm properties are being probed and forces measured by pushing and pulling on biofilms with ingenious instrumental adaptations of atomic force microscopes, micropipette cantilevers, magnetic resonance microscopes, and fluid jets; • These measurements point to microscale heterogeneity in the distribution of EPS and in local mechanical properties; • Fluid-biofilm interactions give rise to drag, lift, detachment, channeling, differential effects during antimicrobial treatment and also to complex motions of the biomass such as oscillation, mixing, and rolling;
	Beautiful June weather encouraged outdoor activities during free time. Above, from left, are participants: Ekaterina Paramonova, Groningen, The Netherlands; Ahmed Touhami and John Dutcher, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; and Bruce Ayati, Dallas, Texas.

	Workshop organizers Paul Stoodley, Center for Genomic Sciences at the Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh; Phil Stewart, CBE Director; Isaac Klapper, MSU Professor, Mathematics.
• Cells compete for space and displace their neighbors as bacteria grow inside a biofilm; • Modelers are tackling biofilm mechanics by simulating a network of interconnected, breakable springs or by describing the biofilm as a compressible fluid subjected to combined attractive and repellant forces.
One of my visions for the CBE is that this center will serve as a meeting ground where researchers can come together to brainstorm and network for mutual benefit. I would like to thank all of the Biofilm Mechanics Workshop participants for helping to make this an example of just this spirit of sharing and synthesis. I am inspired by the success of this event to seek ways to continue regular workshops of this kind. Top


Participant List
Recep Avci Physics, Montana State University Bozeman, MT Bruce Ayati Mathematics, Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Sarah Codd Mechanical & Industrial Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Nick Cogan Mathematics, Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Al Cunningham Civil Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT David G. Davies Biological Sciences, Binghamton University Binghamton, NY Willy Davison Chemical & Biological Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Jack Dockery Mathematical Science & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT John Dutcher Physics, University of Guelph Guelph, ON, Canada Hans-Curt Flemming Biofilm Centre, University of Duisburg-Essen Duisburg, Germany Michael Franklin Microbiology & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Gill Geesey Microbiology & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Robin Gerlach Chemical & Biological Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Raymond M. Hozalski Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN Top	Jennifer Horneman Chemical & Biological Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Isaac Klapper Mathematical Science & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Ben Klayman Civil & Environmental Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Bertram Manz Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Fraunhofer-Institut für Biomedizinische Technik St. Ingbert Germany Thomas R. Neu Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Magdeburg, Germany Ekaterina Paramonova Biomedical Engineering, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen Groningen, The Netherlands Joseph Seymour Chemical & Biological Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Phil Stewart Chemical & Biological Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Paul Stoodley Center for Genomic Sciences, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute Pittsburgh PA Zhiyong Suo Physics, Montana State University Bozeman, MT Michael Sutton Center for Biofilm Engineering & CBE, MSU Bozeman, MT Ahmed Touhami Physics, University of Guelph Guelph, ON, Canada Daniel Wozniak Microbiology & Immunology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine Winston-Salem, NC

A hike to Lava Lake provided refreshment for Thomas R. Neu, Magdeburg, Germany; Bertram Manz, St. Ingbert Germany; and Phil Stewart, MSU-CBE.


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