6533b7d1fe1ef96bd125ceda
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Polymer-induced phase separation in suspensions of bacteria
Tanja SchillingWilson C. K. PoonAlexander WinklerNhan T. PhamChristopher E. FrenchJana Schwarz-linekGary DorkenLaurence G. Wilsonsubject
chemistry.chemical_classificationSinorhizobium melilotiADSORPTIONbiologyBiofilmMIXTURESfood and beveragesGeneral Physics and AstronomyPolymerAGGREGATIONbiology.organism_classificationmedicine.disease_causeLIGHT-SCATTERINGSUCCINOGLYCANPolyelectrolytechemistryESCHERICHIA-COLImedicineBiophysicsMacromolecular crowdingSodium Polystyrene SulfonateEscherichia coliBEHAVIORBacteriadescription
We study phase separation in suspensions of two unrelated species of rod-like bacteria, Escherichia coli and Sinorhizobium meliloti, induced by the addition of two different anionic polyelectrolytes, sodium polystyrene sulfonate or succinoglycan, the former being synthetic and the latter of natural origin. Comparison with the known behaviour of synthetic colloid-polymer mixtures and with simulations show that "depletion" (or, equivalently, "macromolecular crowding") is the dominant mechanism: exclusion of the non-adsorbing polymer from the region between two neighbouring bacteria creates an unbalanced osmotic force pushing them together. The implications of our results for understanding phenomena such as biofilm formation are discussed. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2010
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-03-01 | EPL (Europhysics Letters) |