A feature of many bacteria of diverse genera is the production of highly hydrated, anchored extracellular polymers termed capsules. Encapsulated bacteria are frequently associated with serious invasive infections, rejection of implant devices and biological corrosion. A novel technique developed in our research laboratory uses an optical tweezers as a force transducer to measure the static and dynamic forces between a single colloidal particle and a planar surface. The device is used in this dissertation work to measure the resulting microscopic interaction forces upon probing a single Staphylococcus bacterium with varying capsule thickness towards a glass slide. Macroscopic attachment rate constants are extracted from measurements of bacterial adhesion performed in situ under well-defined, laminar flow conditions within a parallel plate flow chamber (PPFC). Therefore, force measurements are combined with adhesion kinetics to investigate the significance of bacterial capsule as an adhesive surface property in order to more accurately predict and model microbial adhesion.
