A polymer-solvent model of biofilm growth

H. F. Winstanley, M. Chapwanya, M. J. Mcguinness, A. C. Fowler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We provide and analyse a model for the growth of bacterial biofilms based on the concept of an extracellular polymeric substance as a polymer solution, whose viscoelastic rheology is described by the classical Flory-Huggins theory. We show that one-dimensional solutions exist, which take the form at large times of travelling waves, and we characterize their form and speed in terms of the describing parameters of the problem. Numerical solutions of the time-dependent problem converge to the travelling wave solutions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1449-1467
Number of pages19
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Volume467
Issue number2129
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 May 2011

Keywords

  • Biofilm
  • Flory-Huggins theory
  • Mathematical model

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