BACTERIAL ADHESION TO POLYMER SURFACES - A CRITICAL-REVIEW OF SURFACETHERMODYNAMIC APPROACHES

This paper presents a review of the theories based on wetting measurem ents/interfacial thermodynamics most frequently used to explain bacter ial adhesion to solid surfaces. The physical meaning of data stemming from the application of the different theories is discussed and compar ed with current knowledge on interactions between components of matter . It is underlined that existing theories are either in disagreement w ith accepted knowledge on interfacial interactions or yield conflictin g results from a quantitative point of view. It is concluded that, acc ording to the present state of the art, no completely satisfactory the ory exists, and that theoretical and experimental difficulties still h inder the understanding of the relationship between surface/interface free energy and bacterial adhesion to solid substrates. The recognitio n of existing shortcomings should be the first step towards a more sat isfactory state of the art.