Nanofibers and Biofilm in Materials Science

Abstract

In this chapter biofilms are introduced. Also their relationship with nanofibers is described from the viewpoint of materials science. To start, the background information for this topic is presented and explained. Also we show how biofilm causes industrial problems. The relationships of biofilms to nanofibers are classified in two main ways. One of them is the bacterial nanofiber which they produce by themselves. The other refers to the role of the fibers. A fiber seems to control the shape of biofilms which the aggregation of bacteria could produce. On the other hand, another fiber could play an important role for the attachment of bacteria onto material surfaces. Therefore, all of the mentioned examples would lead to the surface phenomena occurring on material surfaces. Finally, we present and describe a polymer brush coating as a countermeasure against biofilm formation.