Nehal I. Abu-Lail

Bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation affect a wide range of problems from bacterial infections and dental plaque formation to contamination of drinking water supplies with pathogenic microorganisms. Bacterial infections are responsible for many types of disease that include fatal ones such as cancer, and tetanus and curable ones such as middle ear infections, pneumonia, hair loss, and reactive arthritis. According to center for disease control and prevention (CDC), an estimated 2 million people develop bacterial infections as a result of hospital care. Protection of drinking water from pathogenic contamination represents a growing concern since cleaning up existing environmental contamination in the U.S. should cost as much as 1 trillion dollars, according to USGS. Despite the fact that bacterial adhesion affects a wide range of problems, a fundamental understanding of the bacterial adhesion phenomenon does not exist. The lack in this knowledge has rendered scientist for long time from establishing a mechanism that can explain the attachment of bacteria to surfaces. Therefore, my research interests are focused primarily on exploring at a molecular level the effect of selected factors that affect initial attachment of bacteria to surface using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Among the factors that will be investigated are the microbial surface biopolymer’s properties such as charge and elasticity, microbial motility, substrate roughness, substrate charge and finally the environmental conditions in which the adhesion process is taking place.

Specific Projects

1. Fundamental Understanding of Bacterial Adhesion on the Molecular Level
2. Development Bacterial Adhesion Models
3. Controling Bio-Adhesion Using Surface Chemistry
4. Microscopic and Macroscopic Properties of Bacterial Adhesion
5. Friction and Bacteria
6. Sensors and Actuators for Pathogen Detection
7. Attachment of Bacteria to Epithelial Normal and Gastric Carcinoma Cells