Natural Bactericidal Surfaces: Mechanical Rupture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cells by Cicada Wings

Elena P. Ivanova, Jafar Hasan, Hayden K. Webb, Vi Khanh Truong, Gregory S. Watson, Jolanta A. Watson, Vladimir A. Baulin, Sergey Pogodin, James Y. Wang, Mark J. Tobin, Christian Löbbe, Russell J. Crawford

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

802 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Natural superhydrophobic surfaces are often thought to have antibiofouling potential due to their self-cleaning properties. However, when incubated on cicada wings, Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells are not repelled; instead they are penetrated by the nanopillar arrays present on the wing surface, resulting in bacterial cell death. Cicada wings are effective antibacterial, as opposed to antibiofouling, surfaces.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2489-2494
Number of pages6
JournalSmall
Volume8
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Aug 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • antibiofouling
  • bactericidal surfaces
  • insect wings
  • nanopillars
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa

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