Modelling the nanomechanical responses of biofilms grown on the indenter probe

Abstract

Biofilms have a profound impact on the environment, human health and industrial systems. In order to manage and control them, it is important to measure their mechanical properties intact. Therefore, it has been proposed to grow the biofilms on the atomic force microscope prior to nanoindentation tests with the same probe. However, for nanoindentation of biofilm grown on spherical indenter itself, the existing nanoindentation models become invalid. Therefore, modified models have been proposed to describe the nanoindentation response of biofilm grown on a sphere based on finite element modelling. It was found that the applicability of the models depends on the biofilm thickness and constitutive mechanical models adopted for biofilms. The models developed here would enable more reliable determination of viscoelastic properties of biofilms that grow intact on the indenter itself.